Tainted
by SavageTrickster
Summary: Escaping from her haunted past and her captors, she finds herself crossing paths with Ciel Phantomhive. Ciel saw a new game, something about her that kept him intrigued. As their lives entwined, Ciel finds himself becoming a pawn in this game. Ciel x OC.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Hey readers. This is my first Kuroshitsuji fanfiction, so please go easy on me. I'll try very best to write this fanfic, so please try to refrain from flaming, thank you. Please review! Enjoy. **

**Summary: In the midst of escaping from her haunted past and her captors, she finds herself crossing paths with Ciel Phantomhive and his butler. In her, Ciel saw a new puzzle, a new game, something about her that kept him intrigued. As their lives slowly became entwined, Ciel finds himself becoming a pawn in this game. CielXOC. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji though I wish I do. But I do own the OCs and the plot. As well as the cover page.**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

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><p>The deafening siren wailed within the building, disrupting the silence of the night. A girl sprinted down its hallways as fast as her legs could carry her. Strands of hair whipped around her face just as she took a sharp left turn at the corner of the hallway. She quickly hid herself behind some crates as the sound of pounding footsteps echoing through the hallway grew louder.<p>

Grabbing at the hem of her tattered shirt, she twisted the fabric into knots till her knuckles turned white. Her stomach felt like a thousand butterflies had been set free from their cages, as though they were fluttering around, bumping into its walls, in their haste to try and escape. She gulped, trying to keep as still as possible, as the guards stopped near her hiding spot, discussing in hushed voices.

"Any sign of her?"

"No. Let's try that way."

She held her breath, trying hard not to let her ragged breathing give away her hiding spot. Her heart was pounding hard against her ribcage as sweat broke out on her forehead.

When the guards finally started moving down the hallway and were out of sight, she released her hold on her breath while hungrily gulping for air. Allowing herself a few seconds for her heart rate to steady itself, she took out a piece of wrinkled paper out from the pocket of her shorts and studied its contents once again. She had managed to steal a copy of the building floor plan from her captor and subsequently planned out her escape route. This was the only chance she had to escape from this damned place. This was the one and only chance for her to gain back the freedom that was rightfully hers. She hated this place. This horrible place where she was regularly beaten and experimented on, and treated worse than a dog. She was getting close to freedom. All she need was a distraction.

She carefully folded the paper and stuffed it back to her pocket as she surveyed her surroundings. Her eyes settled on the crates she used to hide herself with and slowly reached out to one of the crates to lift off its lid. She smirked in triumph as the crate opened to reveal what she needed.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

The sound of the hooves was muffled by the soft muddy ground as the carriage trudged along the lonely path through the forest. The lone occupant of the carriage sighed as he took out an expensive-looking paper out of its envelope and read through its content once again.

_To: Earl Ciel Phantomhive_

_Dear Earl Phantomhive,_

_Your next assignment will be to gather information on the organization called SIGMA._

_Destroy this letter immediately after reading._

Enclosed in the same envelope was a newspaper article dated two days ago.

"**CHILDREN VANISHING RIGHT OFF THE STREETS OF LONDON**"

"…mysterious disappearing… claimed they were just 'gone'…children from well-known families…right off the streets…broad daylight…police baffled…"

Attached to the article were some photographs taken from where the children were last seen, and they all showed the same symbol: ∑

_SIGMA._

Ciel snorted inwardly. How obvious can they get? They were clearly revealing themselves for a reason. But for what? What were they aiming for? That was his job to find out.

He frowned to himself. SIGMA… Why did it sound so familiar? Something nagged at the back of his mind, but he couldn't figure it out.

But it's nothing that Sebastian can't dig out.

"Sebastian. Stop the carriage."

The carriage stopped obligingly. The door opened seconds later, revealing his ever faithful butler.

"What is it, Young Master?"

"I'm destroying the letter." Alighting from the carriage, Ciel took the lighter offered to him by Sebastian and lit the parchment. He watched the flame swallow the letter until nothing but ashes remained.

He looked up at the luminous moon. It was a calm, breezy night, and for a moment, he felt contended.

Then he turned away from the scene before him, to face Sebastian.

"Let's get to work."

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><p><strong>…..<strong>

The red-tinged air was filled with the smell of burning. The building was wreathed in a funnel of black smoke. Scarlet flames scattered across the hallway, making it hard for the girl to flee down the corridor. Sweat ran down her neck in rivulets, dampening her shirt. The air was full of dancing smoke and ash. Her lungs felt as though they were on the verge of bursting as more choking smoke rushed in. Shrieks and screams flew around her. She didn't care anymore. She will have to leave those who had suffered the same fate as her behind. She knew she was selfish for abandoning them. But it did not matter anymore. All she wants now was her freedom.

Ignoring the protest of her blistered feet, she served herself around a corner into the left. Her legs were beginning to ache and her mouth was dry as parchment. Her vision was starting blur as the smoke stung her eyes causing tears slowly swell up. Blinking away those tears, she pulled out her escape route from her pocket and studied it again before stuffing it back. She took a glance around before making her way further down the hallway and made a sharp turn to the right.

Her arms were pumped by her sides as she darted around shattered bits of furniture and jumping over debris, she could hear the unsteady thump of her footsteps echoing in her ears. Her breathing hitched in her burning throat, burning like the stuffs around her. Her heart leaped when an exit came into view at the end of the hallway. She was close, so close to freedom that she could taste it!

Forcing her legs to push harder, her heart pounded to the beat of her feet racing over the hard ground as a mild burn started seeping into her muscles. Sweat beaded her forehead, causing her hair to cling to it as her throat ached for air. She jumped over the last chunk of debris before she skidded to a stop in front of the door. Reaching out to its handle, she yanked it down and pushed forward. Her heart sank. The door did not even budge the slightest bit. It was locked. She turned back to face the blazing scene before her and slumped against the door, arms hanging limply at her side. She sighed.

_Is this how I'm going to get my freedom? Through death? Is this how-_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt invisible cold fingers trailing down her neck, sending chills down her spine. The cold whispering in her ears made her hair stand on its end as she shuddered.

_What's this coldness? Is it because my death's near….? Is this what it feels like to be near death?... No, wait. Why is there a smell? Smells kind of….earthly? Wind….? It must be the wind…_

Pushing herself away from the door, she turned to the right and trudged down the corridor, towards the direction of the wind. Luckily, this part of the hallway was not on fire or else it would have been hard for her to move down the corridor.

The cuts on her legs were stinging and her blistering feet were still protesting. Unable to withstand the ache of her feet, she had to use the wall to support herself as she hobbled forward. As she moved down the corridor, strands of her hair whipped around as the wind blew harder, a sign that she was near. Her journey down the hallway was then disrupted when she suddenly burst out into a fit of coughs as smoke rushed into her lungs.

_Damn. The smoke has spread over here. Got to move faster!_

Pushing herself to continue moving forward, she quickened her pace down the corridor as fast as her protesting feet could carry her. She then soon stumbled to a halt when she reached the end of the corridor. She was greeted by a blast of cold air as it blew through the wide open window. She took in a big gulp of fresh air hungrily before poking her head out of the window to see a dirt ground that had barely a single strand of grass.

_Che. Stupid guard. He must have forgotten to shut and lock the windows after a cigarette break. How careless._

Taking a deep breath, she lifting herself up the hedge of the window and carefully slipped through the window. She broke into a sprint the moment her foot touched the ground, making her way towards the forest that surrounded the building. Pausing at the edge of the forest, she gave one last glance at the burning building and smirked before disappearing into the forest. Thinking of how she was finally free, she mentally patted herself. She ran, the grass brushing against her legs, pushing herself to get as far as possible from the burning building.

She hissed in pain as she stumbled over the rocks that littered her path. She could hear herself breathing hard and her legs were screaming desperately for her to stop running. Her four limbs felt like they had turned jelly, her arms were swinging lifelessly at her sides and her legs could barely carry her anymore. The next thing she could hear was her own breath puffing in surprise when her toes stumped painfully against a root protruding out of its earth and she landed hard on the ground.

Her head was pounding and everything was blurred. She tried to lift an arm but could not as it suddenly felt like it weighted a thousand pounds. She could feel herself slowly slipping away into unconsciousness as black spots danced across her vision. She fought hard to keep herself from slipping into unconsciousness but at last she could only give in to it as the world slowly slipped into complete darkness…

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><p><strong>…..<strong>

The carriage slowed down to a stop as the horse ceased its frantic galloping. The occupant in the carriage gave out a heavy sigh as he surveyed the dark and looming trees through the window. Running his hands through his teal-black hair, he closed his eyes, gave out another heavy sigh before reviewing through the plan he had came up with to complete the task he was assigned to while waiting to arrive at his destination. His thoughts were interrupted when the door swung open to reveal Sebastian, his butler, bowing to him with one hand on his chest.

"We have arrived at our destination, Young Master."

Ciel snorted and pushed himself off the leather seat before making his way towards the door. Taking the waiting hand of his butler, he stepped out onto the dirt path.

"Sebastian, are you sure this is the right place?"

His eyes narrowed at the forest of trees that stood a few feet away.

"I am absolutely sure that this is the right place. I would never make a mistake, Young Master. After all, I am one hell of a butler." Sebastian smirked serenely.

"Hn. Then quit wasting time and lead the way."

Sebastian gave a small bow before moving forward into the patch of tall grass with Ciel trailing behind. Ciel's nose twitched as one strand of grass tickled his nose. Eyeing at his butler that was moving fluidly through, he uttered a string of curses as he struggled to follow his butler through the patch of irritating grass.

"Now, now, Young Master, you should not be cursing." Sebastian tilted his head to watch his Young Master struggling to follow in amusement with a mocking smile on his face.

"Che. Sebastian, just carry me over already!" Ciel snarled at his butler in annoyance.

Sebastian uttered a "Yes, my lord." before moving his way to his young master and scooped him up in bridal style. Sebastian then continued his way through the grass towards the forest of trees ahead.

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><p><strong>…..<strong>

Ciel turned to face his butler after he was lowered down to the ground. He glared at his butler that has his usual creepy smile planted on his face, obviously oblivious to his young master's glare.

"You should have done that from the start!" Ciel glared heatedly up at his butler.

"Technically, Young Master, you did not order me to do that." Sebastian only smiled down at his young master, totally not affected by his heated glare.

Ciel still continued glaring at Sebastian before he snorted in annoyance.

"Hn. We have wasted enough time already, let's move on!"

Sebastian gave a small bow before leading their way into the forest of trees with Ciel trailing behind looked up at the moon that was peeking through the leaves of the trees and gave out a sigh before picking up his pace so to follow his butler closely behind.

Ciel cocked up an eyebrow when his butler suddenly stopped at a clearing; it was obvious that they have not reached their destination yet. He was about to open his mouth to question his butler for his sudden halt, he noticed that his butler was narrowing his eyes at something, head slightly inclined towards something that was ahead and above. Ciel's visible eye averted to whatsoever that caused his butler to stop. His visible eye widened when the air was brighter above the treetops and a peculiar reddish glow can be seen shot through the night sky answered his question. His eyebrows moved down to form a frown as his gaze stayed on the reddish glow.

"Young Master, shall we move on?" Ciel averted his attention back to his butler and nodded.

Seeing his young master's response, he continued to lead their way to their destination. After trotting behind his butler through the forest for a few moments, his butler then suddenly stopped again.

"What is it now?" Ciel snapped impatiently.

"Allow me to investigate that reddish glow from just now; it seems to come from the direction of the hideout. I will make it quick, Young Master." Sebastian gave a bow.

"Fine. Hurry up!" Ciel grunted.

The spot where the butler stood became empty as a blur of black disappeared down the path leading towards the source for investigation. Watching his butler disappear out of sight, Ciel strolled over to the side of the path to lean on a tree.

He looked up at the moon through the little gaps between its leaves and gave out a big yawn.

_Better get this investigation done quickly, it's getting late._

His pupil of his visible eye moved across the row of trees that stood at the other side of the path as he surveyed the scene with boredom written in his eye. Before he could even avert his eye away, a lump on the forest ground caught his eye. Squinting his eye, he tried to make out the lump but the shadows cast by the surrounding trees made it impossible. Putting his weight against his cane, he pushed himself off the tree and sighed before moving forward to investigate.

He took steps cautiously, slowly making his way towards the subject of his investigation. Just when he was nearing the edge of the forest of trees, Sebastian, done with his investigation, occupied the spot behind his young master that has obviously not noticed his butler's return, still caught up in his progress towards his own subject of investigation. Sebastian cocked up one eyebrow as he watched with amusement and smirked. Bending down, Sebastian placed his mouth next to his master's ear.

"Young Master…" He whispered huskily into Ciel's ear before pulling back. A low chuckle emitted from his mouth when Ciel jumped.

Ciel spun around to the source of the low chuckle and glared at the source which turned out to be his butler that was now with his usual creepy smile planted on his face, a glint of amusement can be seen in his red eyes.

"Sebastian!" Ciel growled.

Unfazed, Sebastian gave out a soft chuckle before moving on to report his discoveries from his investigation.

"It appears that the hideout had been burned up in flames. Everything seemed to be burned up in the fire and there are no survivors. I'm afraid that this investigation cannot go on."

"What?" Ciel stared at his butler in disbelief.

"Damn…"He cursed under his breath. _If their hideout is all burned out, then the long trip here is all for nothing. This hideout is the only source required for this task so I'm back at square one again. I've got nothing. Damn…_

Running his hand through his hair in frustration, he gave out a heavy sigh and he suddenly paused, hand still hovering above his head in mid-air. His eye widened as he suddenly recalled that he was going to do his own investigation before his butler disrupted it. He spun around and strolled forward to continue his earlier investigation, ignoring his butler's calls.

Sebastian watched his master move cautiously into the rows of trees, puzzled by his master's sudden odd behavior. Flipping open his handy-dandy pocket watch, he took a glance and sighed before snapping it close.

_It's late. Better get this done quickly, can't let young master miss his curfew._

He slid his pocket watch back into his breast pocket before trailing after the boy. His master suddenly came to a halt and looked down. Following his gaze, Sebastian looked down to see a lump at his master's feet. His head snapped back up when his master uttered his name and saw his master gesturing him to go over. Sebastian obligingly strolled over to his master's side and got a closer look at that lump.

It was a person or more specific, a girl. She was laying face down; her back heaved small ups and downs, indicating that she was still alive. Her tattered shirt and shorts that looks too large on her was covered with soot and filth. Her red hair fell all over both sides of her head, making a spilt that revealed a creamy portion of her skin with a black line that trailed on and disappeared under her hair at her back of her neck. The black line was the one that had caught Ciel's eye. Using his cane, he cautiously shifted the hair aside, his eye widened in surprise as recognition struck home. A tattoo… It wasn't just a tattoo; it was a tattoo that bears the symbol of an organization they had been investigating hard on.

_SIGMA…._

Turning to his butler that was too staring at that tattoo, he uttered his name to have Sebastian's attention snapped back to him and when Ciel had his butler's attention, he ordered,

"Take her."

**...  
><strong>

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><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	2. Maze

**Chapter 1**

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><p>Her eyes slowly opened before closing again. Groaning groggily, she could feel a nasty headache pounding between her ears. She cursed weakly under her breath. The world continued to feel like it was spinning as she scowled in discomfort. Her throat felt extremely dry as she painfully swallowed down her saliva. She licked her dry lips but hissed in pain when her lips that were as dry as parchment cracked and a metallic-tasting fluid entered her mouth.<p>

_Water…_

Working to get her sleeping muscles up in gear again, her fingers twitched as she struggled to move her numb arms. They felt like lead as she fought to raise an arm up. Soon after a bit of stretching here and there, her limbs were up to move about though still weak. Her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked trying to force her eyes open. Wincing when the sunlight that was streaming through the window hit her eyes, she quickly turned away from the blinding rays, shifting to her side.

Her eyes widened as it landed on a glass of water which sat invitingly on a small table at the side of the bed. Forgetting about the pounding pain in her head, she shot up and only whimpered in pain when the pain in her head immediately became excruciating. Trying hard to ignore the pain, she reached out to snatch up that glass, brought it to her lips and gulped the water down hungrily.

Draining all the water in one big hungry gulp, she set it back down and wiped her mouth across the sleeve of her nightgown. She then suddenly grew rigid as a heavy feeling of dread came upon her.

_Wait. Nightgown…?_

She tilted her head down to examine the nightgown. It was a pure white plain-looking nightgown with its two straps hanging off her shoulders. The fabric was smooth to touch as she ran her fingers down to the hem of the dress which reached her just below her knees. She frowned, deep in thoughts as her fingers fondled with the fabric.

_Who cleaned me up? But first, where am I? Has SIGMA found me and brought me back? No, no way…they would have probably thrown me straight back into the cells, let alone cleaning me up and letting me sleep in a bed! Plus, I'm pretty sure that the fire had burned that damn building down. Tsk._

Forgetting about her condition, she raised her head sharply, only to be instantly greeted by a surge of pain at the back of her skull. A low pained moan emitted out of her mouth as she slid slowly back to lean on the headboard of the bed behind.

_Holy crap ..._She cursed through her gritted teeth and stayed still to wait for the pain to pass.

When the pain subsided, she relaxed herself from her still position before raising her head slowly to study the room.

Her eyes swept across the room as she took in the sight of all the expensive-looking furniture around her and crimson carpeted floor. Turning her head to the window, she winced again at the brightness of the sun and when she soon adjusted to its brightness, she studied the carvings of the expensive-looking wooden frame of the window. She averted her gaze to the bed she was currently sitting comfortably on. It was a four poster king-size bed with three small cushions that were now occupying the space beside her.

She sighed.

_I have forgotten how sleeping on a bed feels like...Whoever this person is, this person must be really rich…_

A knock at the door disrupted her thoughts. She turned to the door to see a tall man clad in a black tailcoat pushing the door open and entering the room. He looked like he was in his twenties. His shoulder-length raven hair caressed his handsome face that now held a smile. That upturned mouth made her shifted with discomfort.

"Looks like you are finally awake, Miss." The man bowed, placing a gloved hand on his chest.

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><p><strong>…..<strong>

The girl sat on the bed, staring blankly at the butler, not bothering to respond. Seeing that the girl was not responding, he continued."Since you have been sleeping for two days, I suppose that you are well rested?"

She was surprised to know that she had slept for that long but did not show it. "I guess." The girl gave a slight nod before narrowing her eyes at the butler. "Who are you and where am I?"

The butler gave out a low chuckle.

_Those eyes…_

"I am Sebastian Michealis, the Head Butler of the Phantomhive household."

"Phantomhive….?" The girl's eyebrows moved down to form a frown as that name struck something, but she still could not figure out why it sounded so familiar. Her frown deepened in frustration at the nagging at the back of her mind.

Sebastian cocked up an eyebrow at the girl that was now deep in thoughts before clearing his throat, breaking the girl away from her thoughts. When he got her attention, he continued.

"It seems like you are well rested. My master has ordered me to bring you to see him in his study. So would you kindly follow me to meet him, Miss?"

"Sorry, but no thanks."

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow at her, silently staring back at the girl who was now glaring in defiance at him. Silence stretched as they continued staring.

Finally, a smirk spread across his handsome face, a glint of amusement can be seen in his eyes.

"Oh? Alright then. I'll inform my master of this. You must be hungry; I'll send your food here later. I shall take my leave now, rest well. " With a bow, he turned and exited the room through the door, locking it behind him with a 'click'.

The girl's eyes widened at the sound of the 'click'.

Struggling to get up from the bed, she scampered to get to the door but before she could get to the door, her legs buckled under her, still weak and not ready to instantly move, she tumbled onto the carpeted floor.

She slowly got up with her legs trembling under her, she moved forward and yanked down the handle to open the door but it did not budge.

It was locked.

She sighed before leaning her back against the door and slid down to sit. She did not realize that she was actually hungry, no, hungry was an understatement, more like starving, until the butler mentioned it. A burning sensation can be felt from her stomach as a grumble emitted from it. She was definitely starving.

_Hn. Looks like I'll have to eat what's given to me so I can regain my strength. And when I'm strong enough again, I'll find a way to escape. Guess I'll have to be stuck here for a while…_

Using the door as a support, she pushed herself up before making her way to the bed. She got under the covers and lay on her side, and waited for the butler to send in her food.

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><p><strong>…..<strong>

There was a 'click' sound and then came a knock before the door swung opened to reveal Sebastian again, this time, with a silver tray balanced on one hand. But she continued to lie motionlessly on the bed, ignoring the butler who was making his way to the small table at the corner of the room.

Sebastian set the tray down on the table before turning to the girl.

"I have brought you food, Miss. My master wants to see you tomorrow whether you want to or not." He paused to see the girl gave a nod and continued, "Then I shall take my leave." A 'click' sound came right after the butler closed the door behind him.

Hearing the butler's footsteps growing fainter from the other side of the door, she sighed and swung herself off the bed before moving towards the table.

She paused and looked down at the tray that sat on the table.

It has a pair of expensive-looking silver fork and knife resting on the either side of a silver plated dome cover. She lifted off the cover to reveal a delicious-looking plate of what she could instantly recognize, rib eye steak, one of her favorite food that she has not eaten for a long time.

Pulling out a chair from underneath the table, she sat down and continued staring at the food. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion at it and pondered over whether it was poisoned, she then decided that it was safe since the owner of this manor wants to see her tomorrow and she was needed to be alive until then. Holding the utensils in both hands, they descended down to begin on her food.

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><p><strong>…..<strong>

Ciel tapped his fingers against the surface of his big desk in a rhythmic manner as he studied the content of his paperwork. He sighed and gave out a yawn before glaring down at that piece of paperwork.

He hated doing paperwork. It was extremely boring and tiring, he has to do them no matter what every single day as it was for the Funtom Company, his family pride. He sighed again in frustration. Pushing away the source of his frustration that sitting on the desk in front of him, he turned around in his leather chair to the large window behind him and gazed out at the huge lawns of his manor.

_That refuses to see me…? Che….How ungrateful of her. This is how she expresses her gratitude? Refuses when her savior wants to see her? If not for me, she would have already been dead by now. Hn. So this is how she wants to play, isn't it. Fine, then two can play this game. I-_

A knock on the door broke him from his thoughts. He grunted a 'Come in' before turning back to see his visitor. It was his butler, Sebastian, pushing in a silver food cart that held his tea and cakes for his tea break. He sighed inwardly as he watched Sebastian pushed the cart to the side of his desk.

_Finally, tea break, just what I needed._

Watching as Sebastian set his tea break down in front of him, he leaned back down on his chair to wait for his butler to finish setting up his tea break. After Sebastian was finished, he turned and looked at his master that was now staring into space.

"Dacquoise, originated from France, and Earl Grey tea will be served for today's tea break." Sebastian watched as his master blinked, startled by the sudden talking that broke him out of his daze.

"Is everything alright, Young Master?" Sebastian looked at his master with a glint of concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine." Ciel huffed before picking up his dessert fork to start on his cake. Popping a piece of his cake into his mouth, he turned to his butler and gestured at the cake with his fork in his hand, "I want this for tomorrow's tea break too."

"It has taken to your liking?" A smirk spread across Sebastian's as he watched with one arched eyebrow.

Ciel nodded as he took a sip of tea before setting the cup back down and turned to his butler. "How's that girl?"

"She's well rested but she still looked a little weak so I had already sent food over for her. And Young Master…May I ask, why do we need to lock her door?"

"We wouldn't want our precious only connection to SIGMA to escape, wouldn't we?" Ciel picked up his fork again to continue on his cake.

"With me around, escaping would be impossible for her. So why do we even bother locking?"

"Complacency is only for idiots."

"As you wish. But still, escaping would be impossible. Another thing, there is something about her that did not seem…very humanly." Sebastian paused to see his master looked up from his cake, his interest perked at his butler's discovery.

"What do you mean by…not very humanly?" Ciel asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Hmm…How do I explain?" There was a brief pause before he continued, "…I can sense a faint bit of demonic essence from her."

He watched as his master's visible eye widened at the discovery before it reverted back with interest written in his eye.

"Oh? Does that make her a demon?" Ciel set down his fork on the plate that now had little crumbs of the cake that he had just consumed after popping the last piece of cake into his mouth.

"No. That would be unlikely."

Bringing his cup away after a sip, Ciel cocked his head at his butler.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Let me explain. Us, demons, do not have souls. But for this girl, she still has her soul. Her having her soul is a sign that marks her humanity. That is why I say that her being a demon is most unlikely, but I am not sure I can explain the demonic essence from her as I have never felt anything like that from a human before…"

Sebastian quickly refilled the cup with warm brewed tea after Ciel set down the empty cup. Ciel frowned at this new information before picking up the refilled cup to take a sip.

"Hn. Then we will get the answer out of her tomorrow. For now, I want you to keep a careful eye on her."

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian bowed before picking up the plate from the table to put it back to the cart.

With a curt nod, Ciel uttered a "You may go now." Bowing again, Sebastian left the study to let his master to go back to his work.

_Interesting… Does this have any connection to SIGMA? Hmm… speaking of SIGMA, that fire…..was she the cause of it? Hn. Looks like I'll have to wait to get all my answers tomorrow then._

Putting his cup aside, he reached out to his paperwork that he had abandoned just now and started working on it again.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

**Morning.**

The Phantomhive manor was all quiet, only the rustling of the leaves caused by the gentle breeze and the sound of the water pouring out of the fountain that stood at the front of the manor could be heard.

Somewhere in a guestroom of the manor, a girl groaned groggily as the sunlight pouring through the window hit her eyelids. The brightness can be seen even behind her closed lids.

She grimaced at the brightness before diving into the covers, to hide away from the painful brightness. She was about to drift off to sleep again when there was sudden knock on the door. Still half awake, she grunted in response as permission for the visitor to enter. Then there was a 'click' before the door swung open. Though still under the covers, she was sure that it was that butler again. Her assumption was confirmed when he spoke.

"I brought you your breakfast and I have prepared you your clothes. Eat and get dressed, my master wants to see you later so get ready. I'll come back in forty minutes to bring you over to see him. If there's nothing else, I shall take my leave."

There was a 'click' again after the door thumped softly on its frame as it shut close. She sighed before pushing herself to a sitting position with the cover still clinging onto her shoulders. Yawning, she rubbed at her eyes before swinging herself off the bed. She then got to her breakfast and ate quickly before entering the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Wrapped with a fluffy towel around her, she stepped out of bathroom and into the room towards the neatly folded clothes that sat on her bed.

It was a white plain-looking long sleeves dress that reached right below her knees. Combing her bed hair, she stared back at the red-haired girl that has a glint of determination in her icy blue eyes in the mirror.

It was time.

She needs to get out of this place before the butler comes back. Setting the comb back to its original place, she stepped out into the room and made her way towards the window since that was the only way out as the door was locked. Peering over the hedge of the window, she smirked, to her delight, it was not that high and there were some strong-looking veins creeping up on the outer wall of the manor that she could make use of to get to the ground level.

Pushing herself onto the hedge of the window, she carefully reached out towards the nearest vein, wound her fingers around it and clutched tightly. Praying that it can hold her weight, she swung herself off the hedge and clanged her whole body onto it.

She let go of the breath that she had been holding in relief when she saw that the vein did not snap under her weight. Slowly lowering herself closer and closer towards the ground, the tip of her bare foot touched the ground and soon she landed safely on the ground. Looking up at the window for a brief moment, she broke into a sprint towards the front of the manor where the only exit is. Holding onto the hem of her dress, she cursed under her breath as the dress flapped up in the rushing wind as she ran.

_This is one of the reasons why I've always hate dresses, they are so troublesome._

She smirked to herself when the huge lawns of manor came into view. Stopping at the middle of the huge lawns to glance around, she grinned to herself as she turned her eyes back to the path between the two huge lawns that leads to the giant gates ahead. She was nearly there and she would be able to get out of this place once she gets across this path.

She put a feet forward to start her journey across the path and her other feet followed next after it as she jogged, making her progress towards the gates. But, she stopped in her tracks when a voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Where do you think you are going?"

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	3. Meet the Earl

**Chapter 2**

* * *

><p>She cursed inwardly before whipping around to meet the speaker. Glancing up, she was met with Sebastian smiling serenely at her.<p>

"Now miss, you should not be running around like this…. And it's no use; you will never be able to escape with me around so just give up…" He paused to see the girl glaring at him with folded arms, rolled her eyes and snorted at him before spinning around to sprint her way towards the gates.

With a sudden short breeze, she was caught up in surprise when he suddenly appeared in front of her. She looked back at the spot where the butler stood before spinning back to look at the butler with bewilderment.

"How-"

He sighed and continued, "Do you see my point now? Since that you can already run around like this, I assume that you are well enough to see my master…so, shall we go?" Sebastian strolled over to diagonally behind her, and when the girl turned her head to look at him with a raised brow, he gestured towards the huge porch of the manor.

When he saw that the girl was still not showing a sign of moving, he sighed again and cocked an eyebrow in amusement when the girl narrowed her eyes at him.

"Make me." The girl continued glaring, now, challengingly, daring him to try making her see his master. Cocking his eyebrow even more in amusement, a low chuckle emitted from his mouth.

"Oh? Okay then, if you say so..." He then dived forward and scooped her up in bridal style effortlessly before strolling towards the porch of the manor, causing the girl let out a small shriek of surprise. Realizing the situation, she started struggling and throwing a colorful string of profanities at him.

"Hey, put me down! I said put me down, you bastard!" Glancing down at the struggling girl in his arms, a smirk cracked across his face.

"Why would I? You were the one who said, "Make me.", isn't it? I'm just simply granting your wish. And as a lady, you should not be cursing." He gave out another low chuckle when the girl stared up at him with a dumbfounded look. That dumbfounded look soon turned back into a glare.

"Ehh...You are the obedient kind, aren't you? Then, I order you to…PUT ME DOWN!" She growled and continued struggling. Caught up trying to free herself from the butler's arms, she did not notice that they had already reached.

Her eyes widened when Sebastian uttered an "Alright.", and the next thing she got was a sore butt. Finally realizing that she was no longer hovering over mid air in the butler's arms, her head snapped up to glare up at Sebastian.

Oblivious to the glare, Sebastian only stared at the girl that was now sprawled on the floor with a glint of amusement in his eyes while he continued straightening his coat from wrinkles that the girl had made while struggling.

"What the hell did you do that for?" She snarled at him in annoyance.

Sebastian done straightening his coat, stared at her as though she had asked something stupid.

"Well, you asked me put you down, so I put you down and because we are here."

Looking around in bewilderment, she realized that they were in a spacious room that seems to be a study. The sides of the study were up with shelves of books and there was a large window behind a big desk with piles of papers sitting on it behind her. Snapping her head to the butler, she scampered to stand and rubbed her still sore butt.

"Okay, that's fast…And by the way, you didn't 'put' me down, you _dropped_ me and my butt still hurts, you bastard."

Sebastian sighed and said sternly.

"Again…Language."

'Che. You are annoying. Enough with that already, do I seriously look like a lady to you?" She said in a bored tone and rolled her eyes. Folding her arms, she stared at him with a look of boredom and drawled, "….And so, where's your master?"

Her eyes widened when an unfamiliar voice replied.

"Here."

She snapped her head towards the direction of the voice to see a boy that looked at about her age, leaning against the frame of the door with his hands clasped together on a cane, behind Sebastian, with a cold and serious look plastered on his face. Hair with a unique hair color of the mix of teal and black framed his handsome porcelain-looking face but an eye-patch on his right eye which was a mismatch to his left violet blue eye ruined the perfection. He was clad in a button-down shirt with a black jacket worn on the outside and black shorts with knee-high black gartered socks and boots.

"Good morning, Young Master." Sebastian turned to the boy with a bow. The boy only grunted as a response before strolling past them to sit down behind the study desk.

When he settled down on the leather chair behind the desk, he spoke again.

"Sebastian, bring us some tea."

With an utter of "Yes, my lord", Sebastian bowed and moved to the door. Before he was about to step out, he paused and turned to the girl that still stood there watching him, with a smirk, "Oh and by the way, I _only_ take orders from my master, as you can see.", before closing the door behind him. The girl snorted and rolled her eyes at the door before turning to the boy sitting at the desk behind her.

"Bring that over and sit down." He jutted his chin towards an expensive-looking chair sitting at the corner of the room. Starting towards the chair, she lifted it up and carried it over to the other side of study desk, opposite him before settling down on it.

Once she settled down, she looked up to see the boy resting his head on the knuckles of one hand, studying her with an emotionless face.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

His visible eye followed the girl as she carried the chair over to opposite him. His eye moved to study her face when she plopped down on it. Her hair was a fiery shade of red; it adorned her creamy porcelain-like face as it trailed down to her chest. A bunch of hair, her fringe, hung across her forehead. Her straight delicate-looking nose was well matched with her high cheekbones and her full lips looks soft and pinkish but it also looked a little chapped. The one that caught his attention were her eyes. Her eyes, framed by long lashes, were a mesmerizing color of ice blue. However, the one thing about them that caught his attention was their resemblance to his own.

Studying her from between his fingers, he sighed and leaned forward to prop his elbows onto the desk. Clasping his hands together, he leaned in to rest his chin on it while his eyes still fixed onto hers. Violet blue to ice blue as the girl slumped on the chair stared back, not wavering from Ciel's intense gaze. She then cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Is this the reason why you wanted to see me? Just to have a staring contest with me? " She drawled, still not breaking from the eye contact.

Breaking the eye contact, he snorted at the comment and leaned back on his leather chair.

"No." he snapped at her and folded his arms before continuing, "…Okay, so….tell me…who are you?"

He watched the girl mimicked his action and glared at him.

"Why not _you_ tell me who are _you_ first?" She shot back coldly.

Cocking an eyebrow at her, he stared at her for a brief moment and snorted before shooting back a glare.

"Ciel Phantomhive. Now _yours_. "

She then narrowed her eyes at him and sighed.

"Che. The name's Estella Blancbaston. Happy?"

His visible eye widened at the name as it struck something at the back of his mind. "Blancbaston…?"

"Yes. Blancbaston…so?" She shrugged indifferently at her surname, wondering why the boy would make a big deal out of it. Ciel stared back at the girl, who was now with a raised eyebrow shot at him. His eyebrows moved down to form a frown as he thought hard trying to figure out the nagging at the back of his mind. His thoughts were then interrupted by a knock on the door.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he grunted as permission to enter and the door swung open to have Sebastian entering with a tray balanced on one hand which held teas. When Sebastian was done serving them teas, he spoke.

"Edinburgh tea is served." Sebastian bowed and stood at the side.

"Blancbaston…" Ciel absentmindedly tapped his fingers on the desk, asking to no one in particular "…Why does that name sound so familiar?" Sebastian who stood at the side noticed that the girl's face darkened at his master's question.

"I am sure that I can help you with that, Young Master." Not waiting for his response, Sebastian strolled across the room towards the shelves at the other side of the room and scanned across it before reaching out to slide one folder out. Flipping open the folder, Sebastian expertly flipped through the pages and pulled out an old-looking piece of news article before snapping the folder close and slid it back to its shelf. He then head towards Ciel with the article in his hands and placed it on the desk before him.

Ciel's eyes instantly fell onto its headline.

"**BLANCBASTON MASSACRE"**

His eye lingered onto the headline before moving down to read further.

"…_Lord Alexander Blancbaston and Lady Lucia Blancbaston murdered along with all the servants…pure, cold-blooded murder….only one survivor…case still under investigation…police-"_

A hand suddenly appeared onto the article interrupted his reading and it swiftly snatched it away from his view. He snapped his head up at the owner of the hand and glared.

"What-"

"Don't read any further." The girl glared back with the article clutched tightly in her hand.

"Why you…" Ciel growled.

"There's no need for you to read any further. Mind your own business, this does not concern you." The girl snapped back.

Ciel narrowed his eyes at the girl and sighed.

"Hn. No need for that. I know enough already. Now, let's move on to my next question, answer all my questions obediently and I'll consider letting you go…" When the girl snorted at this, he took it as an agreement and continued, "…From what I know, SIGMA experiments….so tell me, what experiment did they perform on you?"

He took a sip of his tea and watched the girl hesitating, as her mouth opened and closed, he smirked inwardly when she sighed in resignation.

"Fine. They were working on their project of what they called '_Project Nemesis' _on me. From what they told me, it's a blood fusion experiment. Somehow, they managed to obtain the blood of a demon from the Black Market…"

She paused to look at Ciel and Sebastian to see the look of shock written on their faces with their eyes widened before composing themselves back. She continued when Ciel gave a nod to ask her to carry on.

"…And so when SIGMA obtained the blood, they started injecting the blood into many victims like me which mostly consists of children, but many died and even if they did manage to not die, some went into comas. And somehow, I managed to not die or fall into coma after the injection. They mentioned that they were aiming to create an army of this experiment if it's successful. But for what reasons? I'm not sure…maybe for the lame 'world-domination' thing or something else….Hmm…" She shrugged and looked at Ciel.

"Now that I answered with a very long answer, I'm thirsty, no thanks to you."

Ciel cocked an eyebrow at her and scoffed. "_Then_ drink your tea."

"No thanks, I hate teas." The girl eyed the cup of tea in disgust.

Ciel snorted at the irony. He had met her father before, Alexander Blancbaston, once in a party. Of what he knew was that her father runs a company, The Blancbaston Empire, well known for the production of teas and cocoa powder. And now the daughter of the man who ran a company for the manufacturing of teas and cocoa powder, said that she hate teas.

_Hn._ _Talk about the irony here._

He watched the girl shoot the cup of tea a look of grimace before gingerly hooking a finger around its handle, and he snorted again, watching her in amusement.

_Seriously…_

"What?" The girl snapped, the cup of tea hovering over mid air in her hand.

He sighed. "Nothing. So a blood fusion experiment...Did they mention anything about their hypothesis of the 'after' effects?" He turned to Sebastian and gestured at his empty cup for a refill and when Sebastian nodded, he averted his attention back to see the girl take a sip of her tea and watched her face changed into a face of grimace before putting it down and pushing it away as though it was plague.

Her eyes lingered on the cup of tea for a moment before flicking up to meet his.

"They told me that I didn't die or fall into a coma right after the injection probably because it has yet to start taking effect, either that or they manage to inject the right amount to let me not die or fall into a coma from it. And if I didn't die or fall into a coma, the blood would probably start fusing with mine. These were all they told me because it seems that they themselves were also unsure of what will happen after that…." She leaned back on her chair, eyes still fixed on his face.

"Interesting….What do you think of that, Sebastian….?" Both adolescents turned to the silent butler that was standing at the side of desk when Ciel asked.

"Hmm…Sorry, Young Master…..I'm not sure what will come after as this is the first time I had ever heard of this kind of thing. However, I presume that she would probably….I'm not sure, probably…start developing some demon's abilities..." Sebastian trailed off as he rested his chin on the knuckles of his hand with another arm supporting under the arm, deep in thoughts.

Ciel then turned back to the girl and narrowed his eyes at her before reaching out to his cup of tea to take a long sip.

"Okay, never mind. Now, let's move on to the next question…Were you the one that set the SIGMA hideout on fire?"

The girl sighed and leaned in to prop an elbow on the desk before resting on her head onto her hand with a bored look.

"You sure ask _lots_ of questions, huh. "

"I _only _asked you _three_ questions so far…this is what you call 'lots'? Hn… Now, answer the question." Ciel took another sip of his tea before leaning back on his chair.

She rolled her eyes and did what he told.

"Yes."

"Alright…Going back to the experiment…Since you didn't die or fall into a coma…means the blood is probably fusing with yours, so now….do you feel any different?"

"Nope. Everything feels the same to me."

"Hmm…" Ciel ran his hand through his hair and paused before turning to Sebastian. "Do you think you can train another maid? Training another one, should not be a problem for you, right?"

Sebastian cocked an eyebrow at his master and answered, "Of course, Young Master."

Ciel nodded and turned back to the girl. "Alright. I'm hiring you as my new maid."

He watched the girl stared at him with a look of bewilderment and before her eyebrows moved down to glare at him.

"No." She scoffed, continuing to glare at him coldly.

Oblivious to the glare, Ciel slowly took a long sip from his cup and set it back down before looking up to meet her glare with a bored look.

"Why not? Even if I let you go, surviving out there would be quite impossible for you since you have nothing at all. You will probably already die of starvation even before you can even find a roof over your head. Plus, there might still be SIGMA survivors from the fire and they would most probably try to track you down and take you back since you're their prized experiment…and you wouldn't want to go back to them again, right? And…So, if you work under me, you'll be provided with protection and accommodation…so think about it…"

Ciel smirked in triumph when he saw the girl deep in thoughts with her fingers tapping on the arms of the chair in a rhythmic manner; he knew that he had partly won. Gulping down the rest of his tea, he set it down before gesturing at his now empty cup for another refill.

Averting back his attention to girl when she leaned in, he could see that she had thought through what he said.

"One condition and then maybe.. I'll consider."

Ciel snorted and narrowed his eyes at her before giving her curt nod, "Alright, then state your condition."

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Estella frowned when she realized that the Phantomhive boy was right. There could have SIGMA survivors from that night and they would most likely track her down and try to take her back. Glancing up at the boy, she pondered for a while before she made up her mind.

Estella then leaned in to prop her arms on the desk and watched the butler refill the boy's cup again. When she got the boy's attention, she spoke. "One condition and then… maybe I'll consider."

She narrowed her eyes back at him when he snorted and narrowed his visible eye at her. He then gave her a curt nod. "Alright, then state your condition."

Slumping back on the chair with folded arms, Estella jerked up her head slightly and looked at the boy through her half-closed lids.

"I want you to bring me to my manor."

When the boy just stared at her, not responding to what she said, she continued.

"You know where is it, right?"

"I don't but Sebastian does. Okay, I'll fulfill that condition and you'll…." Ciel snorted before continuing. "…._consider_ right?"

Ciel turned to the butler and ordered after she nodded. "Sebastian, prepare the carriage and inform me when you're done, we'll be waiting here."

Estella watched the butler utter a "Yes, my lord" and her eyes followed as he bowed and slipped out of the room, before turning back to the boy.

"Why do you want me to work for you?"

She raised an eyebrow at him as she watched him toy with his cup before stopping to look up at her.

"I'm interested in your development." He stated nonchalantly and picked up his cup to take a long sip.

Estella watched him take a sip before setting it back down, with a bored look.

"You sure love drinking teas…."

He only grunted in response as he leaned back and closed his eyes. Estella rolled her eyes at his response before mimicking his action, and so, the two adolescents sat in their own chairs, waiting in silence for the butler's return.

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	4. Whispers from the Past

**Chapter 3**

* * *

><p>Ciel snapped opened his eyes when there was a knock on his door. Leaning in to rest his arms on the desk, he sighed heavily before uttering a 'Come in'. The door swung opened to reveal Sebastian standing at the doorway, bowing with a hand on his chest.<p>

"Young Master, we are ready to move out."

Ciel nodded, pushing himself away from the desk before standing up. Reaching out, he grabbed his cane that was propped against the desk, beside his chair, before flicking his eyes over to the girl that was leaned back on the chair opposite him, with her eyes closed.

"Blancbaston, you heard what he said. Now let's get moving."

When there was no response from the girl, Ciel cocked an eyebrow at her still form. His eyes then widened slightly when he noticed the small rises and falls of her chest - she had fallen asleep. He snorted before strolling over to the other side of the desk to wake her up.

"Blancbaston, wake up." Ciel stood next to the chair, waiting for her to open her eyes. But instead of that, the girl mumbled something under her breath before turning to her side, facing the boy and went still.

Sighing, he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder and began shaking her, hoping that it would wake her up this time. Cursing something that sounded very much like 'Stupid bug' under her breath, her hand raised up to slap his away before dropping back onto her lap, and she went still again.

_Seriously, stupid bug….? This girl…!_

Ciel gritted his teeth in annoyance at the different undesirable result and the sting of pain on his hand, he growled in frustration. Sebastian that stood at the doorway chuckled to himself as he watched the scene in amusement.

"BLANCBASTON! I SAID WAKE UP!"

The only response the girl gave was an irritated groan before her eyes fluttered opened and glared up at the source of the snarl, in annoyance through her half-opened lids.

"What do you want….midget?" She drawled, rubbing her eyes groggily, it was obvious that she was still not truly awake yet.

Ciel twitched in annoyance at his new nickname and shot her a murderous glare. "Midget? Who are you calling _midget_, BLANCBASTON? And get your butt off that chair…. We're now heading out to your manor, so quit wasting time!"

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself as he watched the girl raised an eyebrow at him and sighed before pushing herself up from the chair to stand up. Crossing her arms over her chest, Estella looked at him with her still raised eyebrow.

"Well, obviously it's you…Who else would I be talking about? And yes, yes…I got it, there's no need to shout."

Ciel stared back at her for a brief moment before his eyebrows moved down to form a glare and said coolly, "You have no right to call me a 'Midget', if you didn't notice…I am actually taller than you. So… The one that should be called a 'Midget' should be you, not me."

Straightening to her full height, she looked up at the boy and frowned when she realized that he was a head taller than her. Ciel smirk inwardly at her frown, he had won again. It was true. Now that he's going to turn fourteen by the end of the year, he had shot up from a height of 158cm to a new height of 163cm over the three few months ever since his birthday in December last year.

She looked away childishly and ordered. "Che. Whatever. Let's stop wasting time; it's time to move out."

Ciel only snorted and rolled his eyes at her back as she spun and strolled towards the door, before trailing behind to follow the girl out of his study. As he walked past his butler to exit the room, he paused when Sebastian gave out a chuckle.

"What?" Ciel snapped his head up to the chuckling butler.

"No, nothing. It's just that the interaction between you two was amusing. That girl's pretty interesting for a human…" Another chuckle emitted for the butler.

"Hn. Well, I find that the girl's pretty annoying…Alright, quit wasting time. Let's go." With that, Ciel exited the room with Sebastian trailing behind to reveal the girl leaning against the wall opposite the door, one foot tapping against the carpeted floor in an impatient manner. Pushing against the wall to straighten up, she strolled over to the duo with arms folded across her chest.

"_FINALLY._ Took you two long enough to come out….Can we head out now?" She asked impatiently.

"Aa." Ciel snorted at her impatience and begin moving to lead their way down the hallway with a smirking Sebastian trailing behind. Estella sighed before moving to follow them.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Estella gazed out at the nostalgia busy streets of London through the window, taking in every detail of it as the carriage trudged along it and sighed heavily.

The street was bustled with life as people gathered around a street performance, watching it with faces of amazement and disbelief. Her pupils moved across the street to take as much details as possible. Children were chasing each other around, laughing merrily. Some women were busy bargaining at a fruit stand while some with baskets hooked on an arm, strolled along the stone pavement, chatting away with each other.

Done taking in all the nostalgia details, she glanced up at the clear blue sky and sighed again. Ever since she got captured by SIGMA, she had never been able to be out into the sun or the streets, let alone seeing them for almost two years. And after almost two years, she was finally free from them and she was now moving along the streets under the sun. However… This time, not with her parents, but with strangers.

She leaned onto the side of carriage and gazed sadly out at the streets. Her parents died, no,_ murdered_, that night along with all the servants. She had a bond with all the servants as they were the only companions she had as she did not like the other children from the families whose parents were her parent's business partners. They were extremely rude and arrogant. But after that night, everything she had was snatched away from her. Everything… Her parents, the servants and even her family pride - The Blancbaston Empire, went crumbling along with them. All these were taken away from her right on that very night. In other words, her life, happy and carefree, crumbled down and fell into darkness. Gone was it all.

**...**

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

_**-Flashback-**_

**1886, 31****st**** August**

_**Tuesday, 12:32am**_

**The Blancbaston Manor**

"_Wake up, darling, wake up." The red-headed girl groaned groggily as her eyes slowly fluttered opened to see her mother's face hovering over hers. Still not truly awake, she failed to notice the anxious look on her mother's face. Turning her head towards the window, she frowned as she looked out at the dark sky; it was obvious that it was still too early to wake up. Snapping her head back at her mother, she whined._

"_But…Mother, it's still not time to wake up yet." Estella rubbed her eyes and yawned. Then there was muffled sound of shattering glass that seemed to come from somewhere at the lower floor. "Hmm…What's that sound?" She asked sleepily._

_Lucia Blancbaston widened her eyes at that sound and grew more anxious. She said urgently, "Darling, get up now, do not ask any questions….We have no time to waste. Hurry, get up."_

_Picking up the urgent tone, Estella widened her eyes at it and quickly did what she was told. Scampering out of the covers, she swung herself off her bed and stood to face her mother. Shooting her mother a puzzled look, she opened her mouth, preparing to question her mother, but snapped it back closed when she suddenly remembered what her mother said. _

"_Alright, make no noise. Follow me, remember no noise." Lucia Blancbaston sternly reminded her daughter before spinning around to start moving out of the room. Estella frowned in puzzlement at her mother's retreating back before moving to follow. _

_She watched as her mother peeked out of her door and tiptoed into hallway before gesturing for her to follow. Estella then too tiptoed out of the room and waited for further instructions. The woman beside looked around with her head snapping from side to side before breaking into a jog. Estella followed when the woman uttered a 'Come' and jogged up to her side. Studying her mother's face while moving along beside her, Estella frowned at the anxious and scared look plastered on her beautiful face. Mother…._

_Her eyes widened at the sudden crash which seemed to come from the lower floor again. She was about to turn her head to the direction of the crash when her mother whispered, "Don't. Don't look back, don't ever look back. Remember this, even in life…don't ever look back… don't ever let something from the past drag you down... Now, let's quicken our pace." Her mother tightly grasped her hand as she pulled her along, quickening their pace. Estella frowned at her mother's words, something about them sounds so….sad, and if she didn't hear wrongly, she swore that she had heard a tone of finality in them. _

_Sinking her feet into the lavender carpeted floor, they served into a corner and shot down the hallway before her mother came to a sudden stop in front of a portrait. It was a portrait of her, painted by an artist whom her parents had hired when she was ten. _

_She watched in surprise when her mother reached out to a tiny button which was camouflaged with the golden yellow wallpaper. Her eyes widened at a 'click' sound before the part of the wall where the portrait held slid open to reveal a tiny room that seem to be only capable of fitting one person. Living in this manor ever since the day she was born, she had never known of the existence of this hidden room._

_When her mother lit the a tiny lamp hung on a wall at a side of the room, she watched as her mother closed back its lid before stepping out into the hallway beside her. Glancing at the now lit room for a brief moment, she snapped back to her mother when her mother uttered her name. She then soon found herself hugged tightly by her mother who kept uttering her name under her breath. Looking up at her mother, her eyes widened when she saw tears brimming on her lids, threatening to fall. When a tear landed on her face, Estella could only utter one word, "Mother…"_

_Breaking the embrace, her mother kissed her forehead and lingered it there for a brief moment before stepping away. "Darling…Go inside, now go inside…Hurry." _

_Estella was about to protest when her mother plead with tears running down her cheeks. "Please, darling… just get inside." _

_Shocked to hear her mother pleading her, she instantly obeyed and stood into the tiny room. Watching her mother moving to the mouth of the room, Estella pressed her back against the wall, trying to make as much room as possible stood to let her mother in too. But seeing that her mother just stood at the entrance, she gestured her hand at her mother to come in. When her mother shook her head at her, her eyes widened and begged._

"_No…Please, Mother…..Don't do this to me. Come on, get in here…please don't-" _

"_No. This was built for you. Only for you..." Her mother said firmly. Unclasping her necklace and taking it off from her neck, she reached out to her daughter and put the two sides of the chain on the either side of her neck before clasping them firmly with each of their end at the back of her neck. Withdrawing her arms back, Lucia Blancbaston looked admirably with tears running down her cheeks, at the necklace that was now hung onto her daughter's neck before flicking her eyes up to meet her daughter's eyes._

"_Fits you perfectly. I know that your birthday's tomorrow but looks like I need to be giving you your birthday present now. Sorry that I couldn't get you a better present, this is the only thing I have that I can give you now…Happy Birthday, darling." _

_Estella glanced down at the necklace before snapping her head up at her mother with a look of bewilderment. _

"_But…Mother…This is your favorite…."_

"_I don't mind…." She sniffed before continuing, "…And it looks like…I won't be able to see you turn twelve…"_

_Estella widened her eyes in realization at her mother's words. _

"_Darling….I want you to know that I and your father will always love you, always. And like what I said just now, don't ever, ever, look back; don't ever let something from the past drag you down. Look towards the future….I want you to have a bright future...so don't ever let something from the past drag you down and be safe. Lastly, remember to eat healthily and go to bed early. Don't play too much and study hard…and another thing….remember to brush your teeth and eat your veggies…and, and….don't-"_

_Estella averted her eyes away from her mother to the direction of a scream coming from somewhere down the hallway. Lucia Blancbaston spun back to her daughter, another new bunch of tears ran down her cheeks, whispering._

"_They're here. I've got to go. Remember that I and your father will always love you…Keep as little noise as possible…" She jutted her chin at a wall of the room which held a similar-looking button to the one on the outside before continuing, "… and only come out when you think it's safe. I love you, my daughter…." With a small hug, Lucia Blancbaston pulled back and look at her daughter for one last time before pushing the tiny button. Watching her daughter softly plead for her to come in from behind the slowly closing wall, her heart shattered into pieces like the shattering glass that sounded from down the hallway. _

_Turning away from the wall after she watched her daughter disappear from her view when the wall shut closed, she wiped her tears and uttered, "Goodbye, my daughter…" _

_Pulling a pistol out of its holster that was hidden under her nightgown; she took a deep breath before marching off towards the source of the crash. _

**….**

_Estella, sprawled on the floor, stared at the wall as tears ran down her cheek, after it slid closed. She knew that, that was the last time she can ever see her mother again. Straining her ears to pick up any sounds from the outside, her breath hitched when a sudden muffled crash and gunshot sounded from somewhere further down the hallway and it grew quiet again. Shutting her eyes, her body shook as she silently sobbed. _

**…**

**_..._**

**1886, 1****st**** September**

_**Wednesday, 08:21 am**_

**The Blancbaston Manor**

_Her eyes fluttered opened to see a casted elongated shadow, her shadow, on the opposite wall by the light from the tiny lamp, her lids then shut tightly at the sting at the back of her eyes before opening again. Estella realized that whatever happened was not a nightmare, it was real. She had fallen asleep while crying, resulting in the sting at the back of her eyes. _

_Pushing away from the wall behind her, she straightened into an upright position. Hoping that it was safe to go out since she had slept for pretty long, she gingerly reached out to the tiny button and pushed it. She held her breath, waiting for the murderer or dead bodies to come into view. But her eyes widened to see nothing of what she expected, there was no murderer lurking outside or any dead bodies along the hallway, it was all cleaned of them. She then realized that it was already morning as she noted the bright sunrays shining through the windows. Scampering up to stand, her legs under her buckled a little as it was numbed from the position she had been sleeping in for hours. Holding the wall as a support, she waited for the numbness to subside before hesitantly put a foot forward as she stepped out into the hallway. _

_Cautiously moving down the hallway, Estella was relief to find out that there were really no bodies at all sprawled along this stretch of the hallway. Crossing her arms over her chest, she frowned and asked hopefully to no one in particular as she continued down the hallway before turning around a corner, "Hmm…Maybe all those were planned out as one of the parts for my birthday, just to scare me…" _

_Shrieking as she backed away with widened eyes, Estella stared at the scene before her fearfully. Bloodied bodies were sprawled across the hallway; stains of blood could be seen splattered on the both walls of it. She looked at each body one by one, identifying them._

"_Samantha… Jane… Susan… Lisa… Mother?" Her eyes stopped and fixed onto the body. She gasped as she darted around bodies and got a closer look. Her dead mother was sprawled on the floor, laid on her back, with eyes wide opened with the look of shock on her bloodied face. Her limbs were twisted in weird angles. Estella stared in horror at her dead mother as she plopped down on the floor beside her mother's corpse. Reaching out, she slowly moved a hand over to her mother's eyes and closed it. It was not a planned part for her birthday, it was all real. _

_Staring at her mother's now peaceful-looking bloodied face, she whispered in disbelief, "No…no, this can't be happening…NO!" Flicking her eyes away from the corpse, she broke down and sobbed loudly in grieve into her hands. _

_Right on that night with her both parents and all the servants murdered, she was the last one standing. She, Estella Blancbaston, became the only survivor, the last only standing Blancbaston that had survived the horror of that night. And it was the night right before her twelfth birthday, it was… the last and the worst birthday she ever had. In a blink of an eye, her life came crumbling down into darkness._

_**-End of Flashback-**_

**…..**

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

_**-Back to Present—**_

Pulling back from her memories, Estella gritted her teeth as her hands curled themselves up into fists. Glaring out at the busy streets through the window, she sighed heavily as a sudden feeling of dread and fear came upon her. She had sudden feeling of fear as she thought how she were getting closer and closer to that place as the carriage trudged on. Merely standing on that piece of land, all the bad memories that slept deep within her mind would be awakened again, and that would be the last thing she wants to ever happen. Estella then felt a sudden surge of raw anger when she suddenly thought back at the memory she just had. Whoever that caused her to lose her everything would have to pay, seriously pay.

_But who? Who would be the one to pay for all that? Damn it._

It was true. Before she could even get a chance to find out who was the murderer, she was already captured by SIGMA. Captured by them, she was closed off from the outside world, so even if the police had found out who's the murderer, that discovery did not reach her.

_That damn SIGMA. They seriously have such a 'superb' timing. Thanks to them, I didn't get a chance to find out who's the damn murderer._

The feeling of raw anger was then replaced by determination, she was suddenly eager to reach that place. And when she reached that place, she would be able to find out who's the murderer on her own. Estella grinned devilishly to herself as she slammed a fist down onto the leather seat of the carriage she was currently sitting on.

_And once I find out who's that bastard, he better pray that I cannot find him because once I find him, he's SO going to pay._

Estella stared out at the streets as a dark chuckle emitted from her mouth.

* * *

><p><strong>…<em>.<em>**

Turning away from the window next to him, Ciel snapped his head over and glared in annoyance at the girl who was sitting at the other end of the same seat which he was sitting on, when the sound of a smack on the leather surface of the seat, echoed within the small enclosed carriage they were riding in, broke the silence.

Glaring at her back that was facing him as the girl gazed out of the other window, his eyes flicked down to see one hand clenched into a fist, resting at her side on the seat, and snorted.

_Is it necessary for her to punch the stupid seat? Can't she-_

His thoughts were then suddenly disrupted when a dark chuckle emitted from the girl. Flicking his eyes to the back of her head, he cocked an eyebrow at the girl as she chuckled on darkly to herself.

_What's wrong with her? Crazy and annoying girl. Why out of so many SIGMA victims, it just had to be her…. Hn._

Listening as the girl continued chuckling on, he grew annoyed.

"Blancbaston. Would you shut it?" He growled as he watched the girl spun around and shot him a glare.

"What? I wasn't talking….so why should I 'shut it'?" She snapped back.

Ciel snorted at her and stated. "You. Were chuckling to _yourself_."

Estella frowned in embarrassment when she realized that she had chuckled too loudly for the Phantomhive boy to hear. Trying to cover up her embarrassment, she opened her mouth and was about to shoot back at him when Ciel interrupted her.

"We are here."

Estella widened her eyes at his announcement and spun around to the window in bewilderment. What Ciel announced was true. With the feeling of fear and at the same time, anticipation, she watched the carriage drew closer and closer to that place. Gazing out at the manor, she gulped nervously. She had really finally reached. The place where held both good and bad memories.

…The Blancbaston Manor.

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	5. The Blancbaston Manor

**Chapter 4**

* * *

><p>Raising an eyebrow as he watched Estella instantly grew rigid after his announcement of their arrival at their destination. Shrugging off at that girl's odd reaction, Ciel turned back to study the manor through the window as the carriage trudged through its wide open gates.<p>

It was a pretty big-looking manor, though not bigger than his own. Green mosses that crept up its walls indicated the lack of maintenance. Ciel also noted the few of its broken windows as his pupil flicked about the manor, studying it with curiosity written in his eye. The two huge lawns at the either sides of the path which the carriage was now trudging on were fields of untamable-looking tall grass.

Done taking in all the details, Ciel turned away from the window and was about to open his mouth to comment something about the manor and closed it back again when he saw the girl staring wide eyes at the manor. He frowned when he also noticed that she was gripping onto the edge of the seat tightly.

Flicking his eye back up at her face, he frowned with a small glint of concern in his eye as he studied her face. He then froze with eye widened in recognition as that expression on her face stirred something deep within his mind. Memories... Dark and haunting ones. The memories which he had tried so hard to forget. Those pair of ice blue eyes was stirring with the similar mixed emotions in them as the ones he once had and felt. Fear and anticipation. He had those same eyes when he finally met his family manor again for the first time after years of being a captive, and the manor was where his nightmare took place. The Phantomhive Tragedy.

Snapping out of his trance, his gaze on the girl softened. She had gone through the same thing as him. Both of them had suffered a great deal of similar fate. Gingerly reaching out a hand, Ciel reached out towards the girl and abruptly stopped before hastily pulling it back. Look down at his hand with widened eye; he gave himself a mental slap.

_What do you think you are doing? Trying to comfort her? Mind your own business!_

Adjusting his eye patch in frustration, he glanced up at the girl again and sighed inwardly. Leaning back onto the seat, Ciel closed his eyes and spoke nonchalantly. "Something once lost will never return."

Behind his closed lids, he could feel her staring at him.

"What…?"

Sighing, he opened his eyes to meet the girl's stare. He stared back for a brief moment and sighed again. "I said… Something once lost will never return..."

Ciel watched as one of her eyebrow shot up high, disappearing under her fringe, the girl shot him a questioning look. "Wha-"

The carriage door suddenly swung opened which interrupted her, revealed a bowing Sebastian standing outside its mouth.

"We have arrived, Young Master."

Ciel glanced back at the girl before turning back to his butler and nodded. Pushing off the seat to stand, he turned back to the girl again. "Let's go, Blancbaston."

Strolling towards the door, Ciel took the waiting hand of his butler and stepped out onto the stone path. Moving a little away from the carriage door, Ciel studied the porch.

There was a fountain which was crept up with many green algae, making it look greenish white, located right at the front of the manor. Water can barely be seen in it. Flicking his eye away, he turned back to face his two other companions, just in time to see the girl stepping out of the carriage.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Watching as Ciel strolled towards the door; she stared at his retreating back in puzzlement and shrugged, pushing herself off the seat. Waiting for the boy to step out, she slowly strolled towards the door and watched as he took his butler's hand and stepped out onto the ground. When Ciel moved away from the door, she too followed suit and landed heavily onto the ground. Straightening up, she snapped her head up to see the boy watching her and his butler.

Sebastian behind her, who was done shutting the door, turned to face his master for further instructions. Estella with arms folded across her chest stared back at the boy, spoke. "Let's get to work, Phantomhive."

Seeing when Ciel just snorted and grunted in response, she started forward to stroll around the carriage to the entrance of the manor.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Ciel narrowed his eye at the girl's back as he watched her stroll towards the entrance of the manor, and snorted. Flicking his eye away, he turned to Sebastian and gave him a curt nod.

"Let's go."

Sighing heavily, he started forward to follow the girl. His eye widened when the entrance came into view. Ciel noted splinters poking out in several angles from the both doors of the huge entrance. With eyes still lingering on the splinters for a moment, he frowned at them before turning to the girl walking in front of him. Cursing under his breath when he nearly crash into the girl who came to a halt out of a sudden, Ciel skidded just in time to a stop right behind her. Eyes widened when he realized he had stopped too close to the girl, Ciel hastily took a step back and glared at her back.

"Can you _not_ stop out of sudden?" He snapped in annoyance. His butler, who was trailing behind them, cocked his eyebrow in question at the girl.

When there was no response from her, Ciel walked up to her front to face her, was about to open his mouth to yell at her but stopped when he noticed the faraway look in her eyes. Sighing when he realized this, he raised a hand up and snapped his fingers at her face.

"Hey…Blancbaston, snap it out!..." He frowned when the girl still stood there motionless; he placed his hand on one of her shoulders and begun shaking her. "Blancbaston….Estella Blancbaston…Bla-"

Pulling back his hand when the girl snapped up her head at him with a look of bewilderment, Ciel narrowed his eye at her. He then raised an eyebrow at her when the girl narrowed her eyes back at him. Pulling away from the eye contact, the girl buried her face into the palm of one hand and sighed before looking up at him again.

"Erm….Sorry…I was just thinking of something….Now, let's go…Phantomhive." With a curt nod, the girl strolled past him and continued towards the entrance. Ciel still with a raised eyebrow stared at her retreating back before turning to follow.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Sighing while she buried her face into her hand, Estella snapped her head up to look at the boy again.

"Erm….Sorry…I was just thinking of something….Now, let's go…Phantomhive."

Giving him a curt nod, Estella started forward and strolled past him towards the entrance. When she finally reached the doors, Estella took a deep breath and gingerly reached out both hands to push the doors. Hands clutching onto her nightgown, she watched the doors swung opened in anticipation and fear. The doors slightly opened to reveal only darkness.

She jumped when Ciel who was standing behind her ordered. "Sebastian, go in and light this place." With an utter of a 'Yes, my lord' from somewhere behind her, Sebastian strolled past her to push the doors, opening them wider, before continuing his way into the manor to carry out the order.

When the dark room slowly lightened up, Ciel behind her strolled past her into the lighted room before pausing to turn back to her. "Blancbaston, don't stand there. I don't have _all_ day…."

Rolling her eyes at his retreating back, she gingerly took a step in and followed the boy in.

* * *

><p><strong>...<br>**

Strolling into the room, Ciel gazed around it. A wallpaper of what he recognized, an 'Ornate Damask Seamless' Gold wallpaper, were up on the surrounding walls. The floor was carpeted with an almond brown carpet. His visible eye followed the steps up the huge staircase in the middle of the room, widened in recognition when it landed on the wall at the top of the stairs. It was a huge and tattered portrait of who he could recognize, the man who was an owner of a company that used to be a successful and existing- The Blancbaston Empire. There in the portrait stood the late owner of the no-longer-existing company, Lord Alexander Blancbaston.

Flicking his eye away, he turned away from it and immediately realized that Estella was standing behind, too staring up at the same thing. Leaving her to it, Ciel continued looking around and noted the large chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. Looking back down at the floor, his eye widened at the little patch of red at the corner foot of the staircase. Walking forward to get a closer look, he also caught a gash on the carpet near the railing. Folding his arms across his chest, he bends forward to examine it.

His investigation was then interrupted when the girl yelled, half way up the stairs. "Hey, midget! Let's move up to the next floor!"

Glaring at the girl's back, he growled in frustration and snarled. "Midget? Didn't I already tell you _not_ to me a Midget?...Y-You... Urgh! Forget it!"

Turning to his amused butler who now standing at the foot of stairs, he snapped angrily. "Let's go, Sebastian!"

Climbing up the stairs in quick strides, Ciel glared up at the girl that now stood at the top of it.

_That girl! Seriously... an extremely annoying one….._

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Gazing up the portrait of her father sadly while waiting for the duo to reach, she sighed. Flicking away her eyes to the two flight of stairs which leads to the next floor at the either side of the stair landing where she now stood, she dreaded moving up to the next floor. The next floor was where most of that nightmare happened on that night. Looking at the stairs at the right, she sighed and turned back to look up at the portrait.

_Father…._

When she heard the sound of footsteps moving towards her, Estella took a deep breath before spinning around to face the approaching duo.

"Well…Now, let's go to the next floor."

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	6. Seed of a Resolve

**Chapter 5**

* * *

><p>Watching as Estella spun to face the flight of stair at the right, he followed behind her as she gingerly took each step after step up the stairs. Giving a last glance at the late owner of the manor in the portrait, Ciel sighed before turning back to Estella in front of them. He watched her sucked in large handful of air as her shoulders rose in a big heave and then drooped down. Raising an eyebrow, Ciel watched the girl gave a curt nod to no one and quickened her pace up the stairs into quick strides, marching up the remaining steps of the stair.<p>

When they finally reached the top of it, Ciel spun around to Sebastian behind him.

"Sebastian, go ahead to make sure it's safe, leave everything untouched for investigation."

With a curt nod, the butler uttered a 'Yes, my lord.' before brushing past the girl to get down to his task.

Eyeing the figure of his butler, it grew smaller and smaller as Sebastian disappeared down the hallway. Snapping his head down to the girl in front, he saw that she was too staring after his butler. Ciel stepped forward to stand beside the girl to study the hallway. The floor of the hallway was carpeted with a worn out-looking lavender carpet and the either walls of it were stretches of golden-ish yellow.

"Phantomhive."

Ciel looked down at the girl beside him. "What?"

"Let's get going..."

Staring back at her for a moment, he grunted in response before starting forward to move down the hallway. Glancing from photo frame to photo frame which hung on the either side of the hallway, Ciel briefly studied their content. Eye widened when it landed on a faint red patch on a bare portion of the wall, his eye narrowed itself to a frown at the patch. He jumped when a 'thump' sounded from behind him.

Spinning around, his eye widened again. The girl who was following behind was now kneeling on the floor with hands gripping tightly at the either side of her head. Lips were trembling as she whimpered some unrecognizable things under her ragged breath. Her ice blue pupils were moving about wildly as her face was distorted with a very familiar expression that he could instantly recognize. It was utterly...clearly... Fear. Fear about what? He could not tell. However, he noticed the faraway look in her eyes. He gazed down at her sadly when he realised the reason for it.

Moving towards the kneeling girl, Ciel hunched down on one knee while his eye continued to study the expression on her face. Frowning at her with a glint of concern in his eye, his hand reached out to rest itself on her trembling shoulder.

"Blancbaston..." He called out to her softly. When the girl was still caught up in her trance, he softly called out to her again. His eye snapped wide opened when he felt some liquid dripped onto his hand which was still resting on her shoulder. Ciel grew rigid as he watched tears leaking out of her eyes which still held the faraway look – she was crying. Then he heard it. The whimpering growing louder, making the unrecognizable things said under her breath, recognizable.

"_N-No...Please...No..."_ Her ragged breath hitched as her head shook frantically from side to side at some unknown source of her fear.

His eye on her softened as the hand on her shoulder tightened its grip reassuringly. He called out to her, this time more forcefully, hoping to break her out of her nightmare.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Watching as the boy started forward to move after he grunted in response; Estella gulped in one deep breath before gingerly taking a step forward to follow him. But actually, she wished that she really could just call off this whole thing and obligingly takes up his offer to work under him. In fact, she had already made up her mind to work for him earlier in the carriage. However, Estella felt that it was her duty to take revenge as a Blancbaston, for the victims of that night. Frowning at the retreating back of the Phantomhive, she sighed.

Her eyes widened when it landed on a faint patch of red on the wall. She could recognize it straight away. It was blood. Blood that was splattered on the wall on that night and it remained a stained memory of that night on the wall.

She gasped under her breath as her hands shot up to tightly clutch onto her head. Flashes of memories came springing out from the depth of her mind. Her legs under her buckled as having her crashed down hard on the floor in a kneeling position. Caught up in her memories, she was numbed from the pain in her knees when she crashed down hard on the floor.

_Muffled sound of shattering glass... __**–flash- **__...Fresh crimson blood splattered on the walls...__**-flash-**__...__Bodies sprawled across the hallway...__**-flash-**__ ...Limbs of her mother twisted in weird angles...__**-flash- **__...Frozen shock stared through the wide opened eyes of her dead mother...__**-flash-**__ ...Bloodied face of her mother...__**-flash- **__..."I'll always love you, my daughter..."...__**-flash-**__ ...Sound of-_

Then she heard it. A voice that sounded very faraway, calling out to her.

"_Blancbaston...Blancbaston...Snap it out..."_

She gave a slight jerk when those haunted flashes of memories disappeared in a snap. Estella blinked in bewilderment, snapping herself out of her trance. Her vision cleared up to see the familiar face of the Phantomhive boy. Crying out in relief, she lunged herself at the boy and embraced him into a tight hug, without a second thought. She could hear the boy gave out a soft cry of surprise and felt him grew rigid. She sighed, too relief to be able to see and touch a real living person, her fingers curled up, gathering the fabric of his jacket into tight fists. Closing her eyes, she sighed again in relief when she confirmed that this was not another one of those memories. This boy was real and she was now in the safe present with him.

It took a few moments when realization dawned upon her. Snapping her eyes opened in realization, she gasped and immediately pulled back to release them from the embrace.

_Oh my god. What the hell am I doing? Did I just hug him? Oh god. This is so embarrassing!..._

Raising her head up to look at the kneeling boy in front, Estella watched him blinked at her, once, then twice, before clearing his throat.

"Hn. Well, at least you're back...Now, let's go." The boy rose up to stand before extending an arm down towards her. Eyes widened slightly at the waiting hand, she gingerly reached out to grasp it. The hand helping her to rise up to stand, Estella rose with slightly trembling legs. The grip of the hand on her hand tightened when her knees under her slightly buckled. She muttered a 'Thank you' under her breath before snapping her head up to see a white handkerchief offered to her, clutched in the hand which supported her.

Looking up to see his visible eye flicking away from her, the boy spoke nonchalantly.

"Wipe those tears away."

Staring up at him for a while, she nodded and obligingly accepted the small fabric from his outreached hand. Hastily wiping at the remaining flowing tears from her eyes, she looked up to see him staring at the red patch on the wall.

"Phantomhive..."

When the boy turned his attention to her, she extended the handkerchief out towards him to return it back. The boy shook his head instead and spoke.

"Keep it. Now that you're done, let's go. You lead the way...Go...go, find out who's that culprit. Avenge your family..." He jutted his chin towards the rest of the hallway and continued. "Go on."

Staring down at the fabric clutched in her hand, she took a deep breath before snapping her head to look ahead with a glint of fierce determination in her eyes.

"You're right. Let's get going...And...Phantomhive, sorry about just now, I shouldn't have just hugged and cried on you...Forget about that, alright..."

Ciel stared at her for a moment before giving her a curt nod. "It's fine. Now let's go."

Estella returned the gesture and started forward to lead their way further down the hallway.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

His eye on the girl's retreating back softened as he watched her moved down the hallway. Eyeing the girl, a smirk cracked across his face when he saw her quickened her pace into a determined march. His smirk then slipped off into an emotionless face as he stepped forward to follow. Quickening his pace to follow closely behind her, he continued glancing from photo frames to photo frames as they make their way down the hallway. Walking towards a corner to move around it, the girl stumbled back a little, colliding into him when his butler suddenly appeared from around the corner.

Resting a hand on her shoulder to steady her, he looked expectantly at Sebastian for his report.

"I apologize for frightening you, Lady Blancbaston..." Sebastian flicked to his eyes over to his master behind her and continued. "...Young Master, this place is safe."

Giving a curt nod, Ciel glanced down at the girl and spoke. "Let's get down to investigation."

Returning the gesture, she darted around the butler to continue to lead their way. Ciel jutted his chin towards the girl and uttered a 'Let's go' before starting forward to follow with his butler trailing behind.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

_He's right. I have to be strong for the Blancbaston..._

Walking down the hallway, Estella turned to make sure the duo was following; she definitely does not want to be walking around in the manor alone. Turning back when she was sure they were doing so, she quickened her pace.

Moving past a few doors, she slowed down and paused outside one. Snapping her head over to see the duo approaching, she spoke.

"First...my bedroom." Turning back to the door, she stared at it for a moment before reaching out to yank the handle down.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

His eye went wide when the door swung opened to reveal a ransacked-looking room. His pupil flicked about the room to take in the details. The white curtains hung at the large window were blown by the breeze from the outside through the wide opened window. Books were scattered on the floor and cracked photo frames on the walls were all hung crooked. The queen sized bed that stood in the middle of the room, had all its cover lumped on the floor, leaving the bed bare. Some of its pillows have gashes on them, leaving the feathers from them to be all scattered all over the room.

Strolling into the room after the girl, he watched as she straight away moved across the room to a small desk at a corner and started pulling out the drawers. Raising an eyebrow as the girl busily dug around them, he questioned.

"What are you searching for...?"

Her eyes lit up and pulled out a silver necklace before turning to Ciel. "This. My mother's last gift to me..."

Watching as the girl struggled to clasp the each end of the chain together, he sighed and strolled over. "Give it to me."

The girl gave him a look of puzzlement before turning. "Thanks."

Sebastian who were examining photo frames hung on the wall, looked over to the adolescents and watched them with interest.

With the ends successfully clasped together, Ciel uttered a 'Done.' before strolling away to investigate the room. Pausing at the pile of books scattered on the floor, he kneeled down to get a better look. Just when he was kneeling down, a sound of crack sounded from underneath his boots. Eye widening at it, he hastily stood up and looked down at the source of the sound. It was a ring. A ring with a symbol on it. Squinting to see past the cracks, his eye widened again, this time in recognition, when he finally managed to identify the symbol. It was the third time that he has spotted that symbol.

_It was that symbol again...the symbol of SIGMA._

Calling out to his other two companions, he gestured them over.

When they gathered around him, he gestured to the girl at his discovery. "Look..."

Then he heard a gasp from her.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Glancing down at the object Ciel wanted her to look at, Estella gasped. She did not need to squint her eyes to read the symbol, she already knew who that ring belongs too. It was the ring she saw everyday worn by her captors.

_SIGMA._

Shaking her head at the ring in bewilderment, Estella glared murderously at it.

_It was them, afterall...How dare they do this! Imprisoned me for almost two long years, experimented on me, beaten me...AND they were the one who...MURDERED MY FAMILY? They are...going to pay, seriously PAY for ruining my everything! Pay...pay...pay!...Now….Now, all I need to do is to survive for my revenge..._

She spun to face the duo, which was now staring down at the ring. When their heads snapped up over at her, Estella strolled over to the boy and extended her hand towards him.

She then spoke to answer his raised eyebrow which was now shot at her.

"Deal. Let me work under you as your new maid, Phantomhive..."

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	7. Path of an Avenger

**Chapter 6**

* * *

><p>Raising an eyebrow at her hand, his eye flicked up to shoot the girl a questioning look with eyebrow still cocked up.<p>

"Deal. Let me work under you as your new maid, Phantomhive."

Then there was silence. Violet blue to Ice blue, his eye slightly widened as a glint of fierce determination in her eyes stared back at him. Breaking the eye contact, he grunted as a response before reaching a hand out to the waiting hand. Clutching the smaller hand firmly in his, Ciel gave her a curt nod.

When the gesture was returned, he released her from his grip before turning to his watching butler. "Sebastian, we will need this ring."

"Of course, Young Master." Sebastian instantly took out a bag and crouched down to carefully put the ring in. Watching as his butler seal up the bag and slotted it into his tailcoat, Ciel turned his attention back to the girl to see her watch his butler with a questioning look.

Then the attention was then returned when the girl flicked her eyes to him and spoke.

"What do you need that for…?"

Ciel stared back at her for a moment before he spoke. "That would be none of your concern, Blancbaston….." Snapping his head to his waiting butler, he gave himself a curt nod before spinning away from his both companions. Strolling towards the door of the room, he continued. "…..Now, let's head back."

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

She could only stare after the boy in bewilderment as she watched him stroll towards the door. Snapping her head over to an utter of her name, she saw Sebastian gesturing to her to follow. Starting forward to do what she was told; Estella continued staring at the retreating back of the boy leading the way. Her eyebrows moved to frown at it.

_First, he's so cold…..Then suddenly became so comforting….Now he's so cold again…Why is he so damn hard to figure out….?_

Sighing heavily, Estella continued frowning at his back as they made their way towards the carriage.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Ciel could not help but gave out a sigh when his manor came into view. The old manor they just came back from gave him the creeps. He could still feel deaths lingering at that very piece of land and it also gave him an indescribable feeling of coldness. Ciel shuddered inwardly at the thought of that piece of land. Somehow he suddenly felt that he was very lucky to have his servants staying together with him in his huge manor. Although they might be noisy and incompetent ones, they were the ones who made his manor somewhat…warm and homely. Not that he wants to admit it…Without those loud and careless servants; his home would never feel the same.

Snapping his head over to his other fellow passenger, Ciel stared at the girl who was sitting at the opposite seat across him. His gaze on her softened, somehow Ciel was kind of glad that he had brought this girl away from the manor where her traumatizing past was held; she reminded him too much of himself….The same traumatizing expression of fear on his face years ago when he finally returned to his family manor. Turning to the window, he gazed out at his manor as the carriage trudged towards it. A small smirk then cracked across his face. Now, this girl will be an addition to his servants…With her added to be another resident of his manor, things were going to be interesting….Indeed, interesting. Merely this new additional pawn would intrigue his life. All he need do now is to… wait and see.

His smirk slipped off into an emotionless face when the carriage came to a stop in front of his porch. Pushing himself off the seat when the door was swung opened by his butler, he turned to the girl and uttered her name to break her out of her daze. When he got her attention, Ciel jutted his chin towards the door and spoke.

"Let's go. Don't waste precious time."

With that, he spun towards the door and took his butler's waiting hand to get down. Landing on the ground, he moved away from the door to allow the girl to get off the carriage. When the girl set foot onto the ground, Ciel instantly spoke.

"Alright, to my study. Sebastian, you too."

Not waiting for their response, Ciel strode towards the entrance of his manor.

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

The doors of his study 'thumped' closed as he watched Sebastian shut the door closed behind him. Leaning back on his chair, Ciel gestured at the chair opposite him when the girl advanced towards his desk. When she settled down onto the chair, he cleared his throat and spoke in an all-business tone.

"Alright. Blancbaston, you shall become my servant from today onwards. Work and serve. I expect total loyalty from you; any intent to betray…death would be what you will be getting. You are to obey my every order and wish. Understood?" Not bothering for her response, he gestured to his butler standing next to his desk and continued. "….Sebastian is the head servant of my manor…so you are to also obey him. Understood?"

This time he paused for her response.

Estella opposite narrowed her eyes at the duo and sighed. "Yes, yes…Alright, I understand, Phantomhive."

Ciel snorted at her response and shot a glare at her.

"What?"

He sighed. "You do not address me by 'Phantomhive'. You address as either 'Master' or 'Master Phantomhive'. No calling me a 'Midget' either. Got it?"

The girl folded her arms across her chest and snorted. "Yes….Of course, _Master_."

The male adolescent sighed again. "I forgot…You are also to treat me with _respect._"

Estella sighed in resignation and spoke in a serious tone. "Fine. With respect then….Master."

"Hn." Ciel gave her a satisfied curt nod before pulling open a drawer of his desk. Pulling a piece of paper out of it, he pushed the drawer closed. Sliding the piece of paper across the desk towards the other adolescent, he placed a pen beside it. Flicking his eye up to see the girl shoot him a questioning look, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Since you have agreed to my…conditions, this contract will be an official proof that will bind us together as master and servant. Now…sign here." His index finger tapped onto an empty space above the words which says 'Signature of Worker'.

He watched as Estella gave him a curt nod before reaching for the pen. The pen clutched in her left hand, the girl signed on the paper in one quick movement before sliding it back to her new master.

Ciel studied the elegant-looking signature before giving it a satisfying nod. Turning to the silent butler beside him, he spoke. "Sebastian, sign here."

Sebastian glanced at the words that say 'Signature of Head Servant', before signing on the empty space above it with the pen which passed to him. Signing in one quick movement, Sebastian uttered a 'Done' before sliding it back to his master.

Ciel took out his family stamp before stamping it onto the paper. Nodding satisfying at the content of the paper, Ciel passed it back to his butler. "Later, file this into that folder."

When Sebastian nodded at the order, he turned back to the girl. "Alright. Now you are officially my ser-"

"Wait…I've got a request."

Raising an eyebrow at her, Ciel narrowed his eye at her. "What…What is it…?"

"I took up a bit of martial arts before my family was murdered. I would like to further develop my skills…so I would like to be trained and also would like to go deeper into martial arts. I mean…you see…Isn't it better if you have another bodyguard…?"

His raised eyebrow cocked up even higher at this. "Just Sebastian will be good enough for my safety…another bodyguard is unnecessary."

The butler beside him too cocked an eyebrow at her and spoke. "What my master said, is right."

Flicking her eyes from the butler back to the other adolescent, she shrugged. "Why not…? Look…what if Sebastian isn't around or something, you've got another person that can protect you…It's a win-win thing. I will also benefit by getting to learn and improve from where I stop. So think about it…"

Ciel leaned in and rested his chin on the knuckle of his hand. Narrowing his eye at his new servant, he continued pondering over the request. Then he made up his mind.

"Alright…But you will still be doing the chores and things that you're ordered to do. Okay then, Sebastian will be your martial arts trainer, be sure to train hard."

Turning to his butler, Ciel questioned. "Training her in martial arts shouldn't be problem right…?"

"Of course, Young Master. In fact, I'm looking forward to test her current skills."

Giving him a curt nod, he turned back to the girl. "Alright. Then it's confirmed. You will be working under me as a servant and a bodyguard, starting from today."

Extending a hand towards her, he spoke. "Work hard, my servant."

Hesitantly grasping his hand in hers, she gave him a curt nod. Releasing them from the handshake, she slumped back on her chair, gaze still fixed on her new master. Not liking how she was needed to treat the boy with this much respect, Estella gave out another sigh of resignation.

Ciel returned the gaze and asked nonchalantly. "By the way, why do you want to learn martial arts and become my bodyguard? You know, you are putting yourself into a great risk of danger…."

"Danger?" She snorted. "My life up till now has been all that. I'm used to that. "The girl stared back with a glint of fierce determination that could be seen in her ice blue orbs. "I am an avenger."

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	8. Journey of a New Beginning

**Chapter 7**

* * *

><p>A smirk could not help but cracked across his face as Sebastian stared at the Blancbaston girl with raised eyebrow. Noting the glint of fierce determine in her eyes, his smirk cracked wider as he studied the girl.<p>

_An avenger….Hmm... Interesting._

His smirk slipping off back into his usual poker face as Sebastian flicked his eyes over to his master. He watched him narrowed his visible eye at the girl, the narrowed eye then reverted back to one with interest and amusement as his master nodded knowingly to himself. His master's mouth then opened to speak.

"Alright then, suit yourself. Since you really want this bodyguard job, be sure that you train hard. Understood?"

Sebastian flicked his eyes over to the other adolescent for her reply. The female adolescent frowned at his master before giving a determined curt nod in return. Flicking his eyes back to his master when Ciel turned to him, he waited for an order to be emitted out of his master.

"Sebastian, you know what to do. Get her to her room and get whatever that needs to be done, done. You know what, right? Now, get going."

Nodding at his order, Sebastian gave him a small bow, uttering a 'Yes, my lord."

Turning to the girl to see her watching them with a bored look, Sebastian returned the look with the same poker face as he nodded his head at her and spoke.

"Miss Blancbaston, let's get you settled."

The girl returned the nod and got up before moving to the door. When she stopped at the door and turned to jut her chin towards the door, Sebastian nodded again at her before turning to his master with a bow.

"Then we shall be going, Young Master."

When a grunt was returned as the response, Sebastian turned back to the girl and strolled towards where she was waiting.

"Let's go, Miss Blancbaston."

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Strolling down the hallway with the girl beside him, Sebastian glanced down at her when she spoke.

"So…Where are you taking me now?"

Sebastian instantly spoke to answer her question. "Now we are heading to your room, Miss Blancbaston…."

"Oh, okay…" Her eyebrows moved down to form a frown as she stopped in her tracks. Sebastian raised an eyebrow and questioned at her sudden halt. "What is it, Miss Blancbaston…?"

With hands resting at the either sides of her hip, Estella frowned at the butler in annoyance before she sighed.

His already raised eyebrow shot up even higher at this as Sebastian tilted his head at her in question with an amused smile planted his face. "Yes….?"

The girl sighed again before looking up at him with the frown of annoyance on her face.

"Seriously…Mr. Butler, you've got to stop going 'Miss Blancbaston that…Miss Blancbaston this'…. Enough with those damn formalities already, it all sounds so…_weird_. Plus, 'Miss Blancbaston' sounds like some kind of old hag or something…Just address me as 'Estella', alright? It sounds so much more like me… What am I talking about?... I _am_ 'Estella'…."

She shook her head to herself at her useless babbling and continued. "….Okay, okay…back to the point, just call me 'Estella'. Short and simple….."

Snapping her head up when a chuckle emitted from the butler, she cocked an eyebrow at him. Sebastian chuckled at her babble in amusement and spoke when she shot a raised eyebrow at him.

"Alright then…'Estella' will be what I will call you from now onwards. Then in exchange, just address me as 'Sebastian'…. Oh and by the way, mind your language."

Estella shot him an incredulous look in return. "What's with you and….vulgarities? I am really starting to think that you're some kind of saint…."

Sebastian returned the girl with an insulted look. "Saint…? Hn. Far from it….Just mind the language. Now, let's get moving."

As they continued their way down the hallway, Sebastian glanced down at the girl and questioned, when he was returned with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you sure that you can really take up this bodyguard job?..."

Both of her eyebrows moved down to a determined frown. "Of course! I am going to avenge my family, make them PAY! I want to be ready for revenge when the time comes. It is my very duty for revenge as an avenger afterall..."

His eyes widened at her words before it reverted back to one with interest. "Alright…We will be starting our training tomorrow. Be prepared to be tested."

The girl nodded and turned her head back to the hallway. Sebastian lingered his eyes on her before turning back to the hallway too, with a smirk on his face.

_Indeed, an interesting one…._

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Pausing outside a door, Sebastian turned to the girl behind him. "Estella….Since you are a bodyguard, you will be assigned to this room…."

He jutted his chin towards at the doors which were further down the hallway before he continued. "…That is the young master's room. It is your duty to ensure the young master is always safe…But…. Of course, with me…his safety will always be guaranteed."

Not waiting for a response, Sebastian yanked down the handle of the door and swung it opened to reveal a room which was about the same size as the one she was locked in, only a little bigger and spacious. Moving aside so that Estella could enter the room, he uttered her name to have her attention spun back to him.

"Wait here for a moment; I will go get your stuffs…."

When Estella gave a curt nod, Sebastian spun on his heels before striding down the hall to do the exact thing he told the girl.

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

Flicking her eyes around, she studied her new room in awe. Walking to get further into the room, her feet padded across the almond brown carpeted floor as she took steps towards the poster bed which stood in the middle of the room and plopped down on it. Sinking slightly into its soft cover as she sat on a side of the bed,

Estella continued to study her room. The four surrounding walls were covered with golden yellow wallpaper. A small dressing table and a wardrobe stood next to each other against a wall where the entrance of the room was located.

She also noted a toilet which could be identified through its wide opened door, located near the dressing table and wardrobe at the same wall as where her new poster bed also stood against. Spinning around on the bed to study the details behind her, she shrugged at the window which was similar to the one in the previous room where she was first waked up in.

Turning back to face the door when the sound of footsteps entered the room, she watched as Sebastian strolled into the room with a stack of neatly folded clothes balanced in his hands.

"Sebastian." Estella uttered his name as an acknowledgement of his arrival.

The butler nodded in return and strolled towards the bed to place some of the clothes on it. Then he turned to her with the remaining ones in his hands and extended them towards her.

When Estella shot him a questioning raised eyebrow, Sebastian spoke to answer her unspoken question. "Here is your maid uniform. Go and try it on."

"Maid? Aren't I working as a bodyguard…?" She cocked her head at him in question.

"I am afraid that you have mistaken…You work as both maid _and_ bodyguard. Until you are well-trained and ready to be a bodyguard, then I shall give you your bodyguard's uniform when I deem that you're ready. For the time being, you will wear this."

Estella accepted her uniform from the hand extended towards her before flicking her eyes up to Sebastian. "Then what am I going to wear for training? This? No way…"

Sebastian picked up the other stack of clothes from the bed which he placed one earlier before turning back to her. "No. This will be the one you will be wearing."

"Oh…let me see…"

Reaching over to take the clothes from the offering hand, she unfolded it with a quick flick of her wrists to reveal a white V-neck Japanese Martial Arts uniform, before reaching out to return it. "Hmm…not bad…"

"Alright, now change into those uniform, we need to hurry."

"Okay, okay…" With a nod, she spun around on her heels and padded across the floor, towards the toilet.

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

Sebastian spun his head towards the toilet door when it swung opened. A girl pulling onto the hem of her maid uniform stepped out of the toilet. A frustrated sigh emitted from her as she continued pulling onto the hem of her uniform.

An eyebrow rose at her odd behavior. "What are you doing…?"

Another sigh of frustration emitted from the girl again. "It's so…short!"

His raised eyebrow rose even higher when he glanced down and saw that the uniform reached an appropriate length to right above her knees. "Don't worry…It does not look short on you. You look fine."

Estella shot him a look of disbelief. "Are you sure…? It feels weird…."

He replied firmly. "Yes. You will get used to it….Where is your head gear?"

The girl held up a white fabric in her hand and shot it a look of disgust. "You mean this….? It will definitely look weird on me, it looks so…never mind, you get the point… Plus, I don't know to…."

"Come over here and give it to me. You have to wear it… Let me help you put it on."

Estella was about to protest but stopped and sighed in resignation. "Fine."

Dragging herself over to Sebastian who was waiting at the dressing table, she gave it to him and plopped down on the small chair to let him do his job.

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

After Sebastian uttered a 'Done' and stepped back, Estella stood up from the chair and got behind it to study her reflection. Looking into the mirror, a maid stared back. Her fiery red hair was tied up in a high ponytail with her fringe curtaining her face. The white fabric rested on the top of her head. Glancing down, she studied her new uniform. It was a typical maid uniform of black and white. She blushed at how the body-hugging uniform brought out the curves which she had never notice before. Then her eyes flicked down to the hem of the uniform and found out that what the butler said was true. This uniform does not look short on her. She sighed, fingering the hem of the uniform. This uniform was going to be the one which will bind her to this manor and its master. Her new home where her new life will be.

Giving a last head-to-toes glance, she nodded satisfyingly at her reflection before turning back to Sebastian. "Hn. Guess you're right, it does not look short on me….."

Sebastian nodded and spoke. "Two other sets of this uniform and your training attire are in your wardrobe….Now that you're done, let's get moving."

Tightening the hold of her hair band on her hair, she questioned. "Where are we going now?"

Sebastian slipped his pocket watch back into his breast pocket before looking up to answer. "For you to meet the other servants and to brief you on your chores. Come on, let's go. We've wasted enough time."

Not bothering to wait for any response, Sebastian spun towards the door and swung it opened. Gesturing at the girl to exit the room first, he ordered. "Come on."

Estella started forward to do what she was told with Sebastian trailing behind. Watching as Sebastian shut the door close, she asked. "So other servants….? What are they like…?"

Sebastian done shutting the door ushered her to start walking. Moving down the hallway along beside her, Sebastian could not help but sighed at the thoughts of those incompetent servants.

"You will have to see for yourself."

Estella raised an eyebrow at his answer and shrugged before turning back to the hallway. Sebastian, who was half-expecting that she will keep pushing him for more answers, raised an eyebrow at her opposite response.

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

Sebastian gave out a soft sigh of relief when he saw that there were no charred pieces of whatsoever scattered everywhere in the kitchen caused by the supposed chief of the manor. Bardroy or known as just 'Bard', always have this extremely unique _booming_ way of 'cooking' which would often causes Sebastian a very _booming_ headache. His unique attempt to 'cook' always ended up having Sebastian cooking instead.

Giving out another soft sigh, Sebastian pushed the doors even wider to reveal all three of those incompetent servants chattering away at the table at the centre of the huge kitchen. Their chattering instantly hushed down and they scrambled off their seats the instant Sebastian took a step into the room.

"Sebastian!" They exclaimed in unison.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at them with arms folded across his chest. "Slacking, aren't we…? Hn. Never mind that. Since you're all here, I'll then introduce the new servant altogether."

The trio widened their eyes at the newcomer who stepped out beside Sebastian the minute he was done with the announcement.

Sebastian turned to the girl beside him. "Go on and introduce yourself to them. I'll need to carry out some task, I'll be back to assign you to your chores."

Turning back to the trio, Sebastian ordered. "Get down to your chores after you guys have familiarized with her. Enough slacking!"

"Yes, sir!" The trio instantly responded in unison with salutes.

Sebastian nodded before spinning around to exit the kitchen.

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

Flicking his eye across the paper from behind the gaps between his fingers, Ciel gave out a big yawn before glancing back down to the paper to study its content. Like usual, paperwork. Cropped up in his study, doing his daily boring routine.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Ciel pulled off the cap of the pen which was clutched in his hand before it descended down onto the piece of paper. With a quick movement against the paper, he signed on it before adding it onto a pile of signed papers. Dropping the pen in his hand, he slumped down onto his chair and gave out another big yawn with arms stretched out. He then let his arms drop back onto his laps when a knock sounded from the door.

"Come in." He leaned forward to rest his arms on the furniture he was doing his paperwork on. The doors then swung opened to reveal Sebastian.

"What is it…?" Ciel asked as his eye followed Sebastian as he strolled towards his desk.

Sebastian responded by placing a stack of letters in front of his master. "Your letters, young master."

"Alright. You may go now." Ciel nodded at his butler before reaching out to the stack. Sebastian bowed at him in return before heading out of the room.

Watching as the doors shut closed; Ciel glanced down on the stack and started to flip through it.

_Anderson Trading… Funtom Headquarter….. Lao…. _His eye widened at a small expensive-looking envelope. The one which caught him off guard was the name of the sender on it. …._ Trancy…._

"What does he want this time?..." Ciel glared at the envelope in annoyance. Clutching a penknife in his hand, he expertly cut off its flap to take out the content enclosed in the envelope. Fingering a small expensive-looking parchment in his hand, Ciel flipped in it over to read its content which is on the other side.

_To: Earl Ciel Phantomhive, _

_You are invited to an evening ball which will be held at the Trancy Manor, servants are also welcomed to attend too. _

_The ball will start at 6:30pm on 5__th__ April 1888._

_Hope to see you there._

_Head Butler of the Trancy Household,_

_Claude Faustus_

Eye lingering on the word, 'servants', Ciel rose an eyebrow at the piece of parchment. His eyebrows then moved down to form a frown.

_Servants too…? What is he up to this time?...That Trancy…._

Fingers tapping against the surface of his desk in a rhythmic manner, he thought hard on various things of what that other adolescent would be scheming. Then a smirk cracked across his face.

_Alright then….Those servants are coming with me. Then we shall see…._

Setting the invitation aside, he reached out towards the earlier few letters and ripped open their flaps to attend to their contents inside.

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

Watching until Sebastian was out of sight; Estella turned back to her co-workers and took steps into the kitchen to get closer to them. The shorter male of the trio, the one with blond hair and a hat hung at his back, instantly stepped out towards her with a wide eager smile.

"Hello! I'm Finnian! You can call me 'Finny' instead! I'm the gardener of the Phantomhive household. What's your name?"

Estella could not help but a smile cracked across her face. That smile on the male's face was too contagious for her to not return the smile and the way his eyes seemed to sparkle made it even more contagious to return it.

"Erm…Hey….Finny. I'm Estella Blancbaston, just call me 'Estella' will do….Nice to meet you."

Her eyes flicked over to the other two when they stepped towards her. The two others were a dark purple-haired spectacled girl and a blond-haired man clad in a chef outfit.

"I'm Meirin! Nice to meet you! As you can see from my outfit, I'm a maid." Returning the smile the girl shot her, her eyes flicked over to the taller male when he too introduced himself.

"Bardroy or simply 'Bard'….I'm the chef of the manor…..By the way, how old are you?"

Estella stared back for a brief moment before speaking to answer. "Turning fourteen this year."

"Fourteen?"

"Aa….Yeah?" She then raised an eyebrow at them when a choir of surprised outcries emitted from the trio.

Then Meirin spoke to explain the reason for their outcries. "You see….Young Master is going to turn fourteen by the end of this year. We were just surpised to find out that you're of the same age as Young Master."

"He's of the same age as me?" Her eyes widened at this new information. Then she continued. "He's the same age as me and he already has so many people who are _older_ than him, working _under_ him?...Wow, seriously…."

The trio nodded at this in unison before Finny shot out a question. "So you are a maid too, huh?"

He then nudged Meirin and spoke. "Meirin! Looks like you have someone else to share your chores with!"

Estella nodded at this. "Actually…I'm working as both a maid _and_ a bodyguard…"

"Bodyguard?"

She nodded in confirmation. "Sebastian is going to train me on martial arts to prepare me to be one…"

Frowning in puzzlement when the trio snapped their heads to look at each other with widened eyes. "What is it….?"

"You've better be careful. Sebastian….He's _scary_…." Finny answered her.

"Scary…How?"

"Erm….Just scary." Meirin replied.

Nodding and shrugging at this information, her eyes swiped around the kitchen. Estella then paused as they landed on a small smiling old man with a Japanese cup in his hand sitting crossed-legs against a wall beside a cupboard.

Then she turned back to the trio and gestured at the old man as she questioned. "Who's that…?"

Finny's eyes lit up at her gesture. "Oh yeah, that's Tanaka-san!"

"Oh…" She nodded knowingly. "What does he do?"

Both eyebrows shot up at the trio when they turned their heads to give each other a questioning look. Then Finny spoke. "Erm….He….drinks tea."

"No,no….What I meant was…. What is he supposed to do as his duty?"

"Like I said….Drinks tea."

Tilting her head at the old man's weird duty, she repeated the answer at Finny with an incredulous look. "Drinks tea…? Seriously?"

Instead, a 'Oh ho ho ho" replied her. Spinning her head around to the old man, she stared in puzzlement at him before turning back to the trio. "Okay…that's unique. Drinking teas, huh."

Finny nodded at her comment. Then suddenly gave out an outcry. The two others along with her shot him a puzzled look.

"What? What? What is it, Finny?" Bard exclaimed in question at his outcry.

Finny turned to him with a panicked look. "I've forgot to turn off the hose which I used earlier to water the plants! Oh no, oh no! I've better get going!" With a yell of 'Later, guys!", Finny broke into a run out through the kitchen door.

Watching as Finny disappeared out of sight, Estella turned back to the other two with head tilting at them in puzzlement, only to have them shrugging back at her.

"Don't worry, he's always this forgetful." Bard shrugged again.

Then there was sudden scream from where Finny exited from. The next thing that happened was the gardener running back into the kitchen, yelling in a panicked tone. "AHHH!~~~ I MUST HIDE! SHE'S HERE!"

While still yelling the same words repeatedly, Finny ran across the kitchen before disappearing again through another door at the corner leading to the outside.

"What, what? Who's here? FINNY!" Bard questioned in a panicked exclaim, but could not be given an answer since Finny had already disappeared through that door.

Estella shot a bewildered look at the wide opened door which Finny disappeared through. "O-Okay…? What the hell was that?"

Meirin adjusting her glasses shrugged at her question. "I don't know….And who is that 'she' was Finny screaming about anyway?

The only response she got were shrugs of shoulders.

Then Bard cried out. "Could the 'she' that he was screaming about…be…" The chef trailed on and gulped nervously.

Meirin only widened her eyes at him in response.

Estella frowned at the two in question. "Who, who….?"

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	9. His Fiancee

**Chapter 8**

* * *

><p>Her frown deepened even more in question when Meirin too gulped nervously, only answered her question. Flicking her eyes from side to side at the two, Estella asked her unanswered question again.<p>

"Who, who…? Who is this 'she' were you two talking about….?"

Meirin snapped her head over to Bard before turning back to her. "Lady Elizabeth…The Young Master's fiancee."

Both of her eyebrows rose up at this information. "Oh? Phanto- _Master_…has a fiancée…? He already has a_ fiancee_ at such a young age….?"

When Meirin nodded in confirmation, Estella could only return it with an incredulous look. "Seriously….? Wow."

She nodded knowingly to herself at this new information. Then her head snapped up over to Bard when he spoke. "I-I think I would better be going to check it out….."

Not waiting for any response, the blond male gingerly took a step forward and started strolling towards the door for his investigation. Watching as Bard disappeared out through the door with a raised eyebrow, Estella turned her attention back to the other female when Meirin gave out a sigh. Tilting her head in question, Estella shrugged and spoke to ask.

"Meirin. What's so…..scary about Lady Elizabeth….?" She shrugged again, this time, indifferently at how big her co-workers were making a deal over the arrival of the Young Master's fiancée.

Meirin tapped her index finger against her chin repeatedly in a rhythmic manner, pondering over an answer. The older female then rose up her head to answer.

"Aa….I'm not sure how I can explain….." There was a brief pause before she continued. "…..She's just…..a bit too….erm…..enthusiastic…"

Estella rose both eyebrows in puzzlement at her reply. "Enthusiastic….?"

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Estella could not help but burst out into laughter the moment Bard entered the kitchen. The sight of him was too _interesting _to not burst out into laughter. There stood at the mouth of the door was a sulking Bard with arms hanging lifelessly at his sides, a lump on his head which she could finally recognize… a blond curly short hair wig. The way he sulked made it even harder to not laugh as the sulking look on his face reminds her too much of a little boy when he got his sweets taken away for him.

"W-What t-the h-hell are you w-wearing…? A w-wig…?" Her whole body shook as she stammered between laughter. Hearing another burst of laughter from the other female, she could not resist but let a smirk break across her face. Breathing hard to calm her laughter, Estella tilted her head the now fuming male in amusement.

Bard glared dangerously at his two female co-workers and snarled. "Hey! Not funny at all. Stop laughing, Meirin! And you! The new girl, wipe that stupid smirk off your face now!"

Yanking the wig off, the fuming male stormed towards them with arms folded across his chest. Foot tapping against the marble floor in an impatient manner, Bard narrowed his eyes at the two in annoyance.

Succeeding after struggling to make the smirk slip off into a poker face, Estella sighed in resignation before looking up at Bard. "Alright, alright…See, no more smirks."

Meirin too breathed hard to suppress her laughter and looked up at the blond male with a mocking smile. Then the mocking smile slipped when the male narrowed his eyes dangerously at her. Clearing her throat to compose herself, she spoke.

"So… it's Lady Elizabeth?"

"Obviously…Who else would give me such a _wonderful_ gift?" With the wig waving in his hand, Bard shot it a look of utter disgust before carelessly flinging it to somewhere behind him. The minute it left his hand he started going on about his earlier 'horrible' encounter with the mentioned visitor.

Estella had her eyes following the flying wig, stared shocked with wide eyes the moment it dropped into a pot of boiling stew. The shocked look was then replaced by a dumbfounded look as she watched it slowly sank into the boiling mixture.

Turning to the male with the dumbfounded look still on her face, she tugged onto his sleeve to get his attention. "Erm…Bard? That wig you sent flying…..Aa...…just dropped into a pot of boiling…erm…stew. You might…want to try fishing it ou-…"

Outcries of horror emitted from the two interrupted her. The loudest one came from that particular blond male.

"Oh no, oh no! Damn it, Sebastian's going to kill me for ruining the Young Master's lunch!"

* * *

><p><strong>…...<strong>

Estella could not help but watch in amusement as the two struggled to get the wig out from the pot of boiling mixture. Whistling lowly under her breath when Bard finally managed to yank out an unrecognizable stew-covered lump with an almost equally stew-covered arm, she watched him stroll towards a bin which was located beside a cupboard, and watched the wig get dumped into the bin.

Meirin who just strolled back from the stove, mopped the rivulet of sweats off the sides of her face and gave out a big sigh of relief. Bard shot a last glare at the lump lying at the bottom of the bin before turning to go back to his co-workers.

"Whew…That was close…." Bard stopping at where his co-workers gathered, let out a relieved sigh. His head spun to give the bin a glare before turning back to his two other co-workers. "It will be that stupid wig's fault if the Young Master's lunch is ruined!...Damn wig!"

Estella shrugged indifferently at the topic of that incident. "Don't worry, I'm sure it will be fine. Probably it will just somehow taste a little…hairy?..."

Meirin beside her gave out another sigh of relief. "Yeah…There's no need to worry about, Bard. Oh yeah…Where did Lady Elizabeth go…?"

Shooting an incredulous look at her question, he spoke to answer. "Well…obviously to tortur-, I mean, see the Young Master….Oh….And I think we should tell Finny that it's safe to come out."

"I'll go!" Meirin yelled, spinning towards the wide opened door which Finny ran through.

* * *

><p><strong>…...<strong>

With a quick hand movement against a paper, Ciel signed at the bottom of the last piece of paperwork before adding to the pile of signed papers on his right. Letting the pen clutched in his hand dropped onto the desk, he plopped back onto his chair. Massaging his temple wearily, he let out a big yawn before leaning forward to stretch out his arms across the desk. Glancing at the grandfather clock which stood next to the shelves, he noted that it was already 4:06pm.

_Better get the servants informed about their involvement in the ball….._

Sighing heavily, he was about pushing himself off his chair to a standing position when the doors suddenly swung opened. The next thing he felt was dread when a very familiar high-pitched voice screamed his name.

"_CIEL!~~ _"

A girl with blond curly long hair in two pigtails, clad in a frill dress of the mix of red and white, hopped into his study. No one other than the girl who shares a relation of being both his cousin and fiancee, Elizabeth Midford or rather likes to be called as 'Lizzy'. Screaming his name at the top of her voice, she ran towards the boy before leaping forward to give him her usual bone-crushing hug.

Wincing when her arms tightened even tighter around his neck, Ciel struggled to pull the clinging girl off him. After when he finally succeeded getting her off, he could not help but gave out a sigh of relief.

"Elizabeth. What are you doing here?"

With hands resting at the either sides of her hips, Elizabeth frowned and pouted up at him. "It's Lizzy! Lizzy~ And well…of course, to visit you!"

The male adolescent sighed. "Elizabeth….I beg you….Do not shout in my manor…"

Looking down at his pouting fiancee, he paused and stared at Elizabeth for a moment before letting out another sigh.

_Fiancee..._

He loves Elizabeth, not as in the romantic kind, despite of the fact that she is his fiancee. The feeling of love towards her is a family kind of love; he merely only love her as his dear cousin and childhood friend. Though his only his family kind of love towards her, he found it pointless objecting to their engagement since his coming of death will be in the near future. Because of his love for her, of course…again, the family kind, he doesn't want to leave her to suffer. Over the matter of how he was going to break their engagement gave him headaches every time he thought about it. And now, staring at his fiancee's face, a conflict of emotions stirred deep within him.

Shrugging off those tormenting conflicting emotions, he ran a hand through his hair in frustration before looking back down at the female. The pout on her face fell into a face of concern as her head tilted in question.

"Ciel….?"

"It's nothing. Let's go and find the servants. I need to inform them of something…" Resting both hands on her shoulders, Ciel spun her around and led her towards the wide opened doors.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Sebastian narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the two servants who were now grinning sheepishly up at him. His eyes flicked to a puzzled-looking Finny, then to the new servant who was watching with a look of boredom on her face. Flicking them back to the two, he questioned in a low dangerous tone.

"What is this and what is it doing in the stew?" He stared pointedly at a stew-covered strand of an unrecognizable whatsoever which was held between his index finger and thumb, hovering over mid-air. Unfortunately for Bard and Meirin or more particularly, Bard, Sebastian found it floating on the surface of the mixture when he came back to the kitchen from his tasks.

Bard stammered with still the sheepish grin on his face. "I-It's-"

He was then interrupted by a drawl which came from behind them. "I'll answer that question."

All attention turned to an Estella who sat on one of the chair with arms resting on the table behind. Returning the stares with a bored look, an eyebrow rose indifferently at them. It rose even higher when she noticed the pleading looks on the two's faces. She also noted the puzzled look which still remained plastered on the young blond male.

Flicking her attention over to Sebastian, she sighed in resignation before doing what she volunteered. "Well…you see…that broom ther-"

The closed doors of the kitchen which swung opened interrupted her while she was in the midst of her answer to reveal the Phantomhive boy with a girl in two blond curly pigtails clinging to his left arm. Sebastian turned to the duo to acknowledge them with a bow.

"Young Master…..Lady Elizabeth….."

A choir of acknowledgments came from the bowing trio followed after. Sighing in resignation, Estella pushed herself off the chair to stand. Folding her arms across her chest, she nodded at them in acknowledgment.

"Phanto-, I meant, Master…Lady Eliz-"

Before she could even finish, a high-pitched outcry interrupted her. "Ciel! A new one?"

Her eyes widened when the owner of the high-pitched voice detached herself from her master's arm and lunged at her. Scooting away from the girl, she struggled to get the arms which were clung onto her shoulders, off her. Estella gave out a soft annoyed sigh at her fruitless effort when the girl followed, scooting closer every time she scoots away.

Flicking her eyes pleadingly to her co-workers, apologetic looks were only returned. Then to Sebastian who just watched with a glint of amusement. Her eyes narrowed at her new master when she saw his already-present smirk crept wider across his face at her. Sighing, she glanced back at the taller ogling girl. Raising an eyebrow at she realized that the girl gaping at her face with her green eyes flicking about it, Estella cringed her head away in discomfort to break off the close proximity between them.

_Apparently, this girl has never heard of something called 'Personal Space'…._

Letting out the breath she was holding in relief when the girl moved away from her, her eyes followed as the girl turned to her watching fiancee.

"Ciel, she looks so pretty!"

Then the girl turned back with a smile. "I am Elizabeth Midford, Ciel's fiancee. Nice to meet you! What's your name?..."

A smile gingerly crept across her face to return it, Estella spoke to reply.

"A-Aa…Estella Blancbaston. Nice to meet you too…"

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Ciel could not feel anything else but just simply amusement when he watched his new servant cringed away from his fiancee with an expression of utterly... discomfort. A small smirk crept across his face. The smirk cracked even wider when he saw her looked at him with a pleading look. Usually when Elizabeth harasses his servants with her obsession of making them 'cute' or another type of harassment which was occurring now, he would make her leave them alone. However for this particular new servant, all he felt was amusement as he watched on. Probably one of the reasons why he actually enjoyed watching her suffer this harassment was maybe because of her defiance towards him…..Maybe.

Instantly letting the smirk on his face slip when Elizabeth suddenly turned to him, he raised his both eyebrows at the look of amazement on her face. He found out the reason for it when she spoke.

"Ciel, she looks so pretty!"

His eyebrows rose even higher at her words. Flicking his eyes over at his new servant, he could not help but admit that what his fiancee stated was true. Then he paused and immediately regretted having that redundant thought. Scoffing at that thought, he decided that he should not let time waste away and instead, go straight to the point for his presence here. Turning back to the only conversation in the room to just in time hear his new servant finish with her introduction, he cleared his throat to have all attention turned to him.

"Alright. Since you two are done familiarizing with each other, let's get straight to the reason I'm here…." He paused for a brief moment before he continued. "….Tonight, you are all attending an evening ball along with me. It's starting at 6:30pm; make sure to prepare yourselves for it. Formal should be what you all should be wearing. We will be leaving for it at 5:40pm, so make sure to be prepared by then. Understood? "

Nods were the only responses before excited chatters broke out among the trio. Elizabeth tilted her head in question at her fiancee. "What ball….?"

Ciel flicked his attention to her and answered her nonchalantly. "Alois Trancy's…."

Shooting a raised eyebrow at her when her eyes widened at that mentioned name, his own eye too widened when he figured the possible reason for her reaction. _Don't tell me…._

Her reply then confirmed his assumption. "Alois Trancy?...He invited me to the ball too! That's great, we can go over there together!"

Not waiting for his response, Elizabeth spun around and hopped towards his new servant. A small unnoticeable mocking smile crept across his face when he saw his new servant suddenly jumped, startled when his fiancee suddenly approached her, yelling.

"Estella~ Let me help you prepare for tonight's ball!"

Gaping at his fiancee in horror was her only response. Ciel could not help but let the mocking smile on his face cracked wider across his face.

The mocking smile instantly slipped off into his usual poker face when he heard Sebastian utter his name. Turning his attention to him, Ciel gave him a questioning look.

"What is it….?"

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at him. "So it's the Trancy….?"

"Aa."

A frown appeared on Sebastian's face before it disappeared as he nodded knowingly to himself. Bowing with a hand on his chest, Sebastian spoke.

"Then I shall now go and prepare the carriages for the ball."

Ciel stared up his butler for moment before giving him a curt nod. "Go ahead…" Before Sebastian could move to exit the kitchen, he spoke again. "Sebastian, wait….What time is it now?"

Sebastian instantly responded by taking out his handy dandy pocket watch and flipped it opened to take a glance at it. Looking up, Sebastian snapped the pocket watch before slipping it back.

"It's 4:28pm, Young Master."

Frowning at the answer, Ciel gave him a curt nod. "You may go."

With another bow, Sebastian exited the kitchen. Turning to the chattering group behind him, he spoke.

"Okay, listen up…"

Glaring at the still chattering group when he realized that they were not listening, he gave out an annoyed sigh. Summoning a deep breath, he snarled out.

"LISTEN!'

Letting out a heavy sigh when the chatter went down to a hush, he ran a hand through his hair in annoyance and sighed again.

"Okay, listen…Now it's 4:28pm. I want all of you to start preparing for the ball now. Remember, formal attires are to be worn for it... We'll meet at the entrance hall at 5.40pm _sharp_. Do not be late. Understood?"

A choir of 'Yes, sir' and an 'Okay, Ciel~' emitted from the group. Giving them a curt nod, Ciel turned away from them and strolled to the doors of the kitchen before disappearing through them.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Watching the retreating back of her master as he opened one of the doors and exited the kitchen, she sighed before turning back to his fiancee. Despite of the fact that she had already tried convincing the overexcited female for countless times that she is able to prepare herself for the ball by _herself_ which resulted to be fruitless attempts, Estella still desperately continued with her attempts to convince the female.

Sighing exasperatedly softly to herself, she snapped her head up to the smiling female with a deadpanned look on her face.

"Lady Elizabeth…Don't worry about me. How about you help prepare _Meirin_ for it instead…?" She asked hopefully. The horrified look on Meirin's face fell into a relieved look when Elizabeth shook her head at her offer.

"No, no….I want to help _you _prepare for it! You see...Like this, I can get to know more about you while I'm at it...So it's _you_ I want to help."

Trying to hold back the urge to knock herself unconscious with one of the furniture around her, Estella gave out an irritated sigh. Also trying hard to hold back from yelling at the girl, she took in deep breaths to calm herself. Looking up at the excited look on the female's face, she sighed again.

_Now I know why Meirin described her as 'Enthusiastic'….Hmm...A bit enthusiastic? Hn. More like, WAY too enthusiastic…._

Burying her face into her wide opened palm, she groaned in frustration into it before raising her head up to Elizabeth again. Seeing the overexcited look on her face, Estella finally gave in. "Alright, alright…."

"Great! Let's go get you prepared now!"

Staring dumbfounded at hearing the immediate too-excited response from Elizabeth, a great feeling of regret instantly fell upon her. Hearing her female co-worker uttered a 'Sorry' to her as Estella dragged her feet, moving pass her co-workers to follow Elizabeth in front, leading their way towards the door, she only grunted halfheartedly back as a response.

On 5th April 1888, Estella Blancbaston, the new maid and bodyguard of the Phantomhive household, had became a victim of Elizabeth Midford.

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	10. Dancing in the Violet Moon

**Author's Note: ****Hey readers. I would like to thank those reviewers for their lovely reviews, thank you so much! I would like to you guys….Chapter Nine! In this chapter, there will be a CielOC moment and this is the chapter which marks the involvement of Alois Trancy in this story...Oh and of course, Claude and Hannah too. Hope you will like this chapter! This chapter is an even **_**loooooonger**_** than the previous one! Whew!**

**Oh yeah, at the end of the chapter, you guys will know why I chose this title for this chapter. This title has a meaning. I'll explain at the end of the page. And. Please note that the first time Ciel seen Alois face-to-face was at the Halloween party during October in the year before the year Ciel will turn 13 in the anime/manga. Though instead of 13, in this story, the Halloween party was in the year during October before the year when he will turn 14. Hope you guys understand what I'm getting at.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji though I wish I do. But I do own the OCs and the plot.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

* * *

><p>Estella gave out a heavy sigh as she continued following the girl's movements with eyes flicking from side to side. The said girl darted around the closet room, going from side to side, with a pile of dresses hung limply on a forearm. Elizabeth hummed as she continued picking and adding dresses onto the pile of dresses in her arm. Leaning back onto the door frame behind her, Estella continued watching her every movement. Flicking her eyes away from the female, they slowly flicked about the room as she looked around to study it once again.<p>

The narrow long room stretched up all the way to the end where a large window was located at the wall opposite the entrance where she was now standing at. The other female moved through the two rows of clothes that stood at the sides against the two stretches of walls, which were covered with olive green wallpaper. The click-clack of Elizabeth's shoes echoed throughout the room as the girl darted from side to side excitedly. Shadows were casted across the room by the two lamps of light which hung on the either walls.

She snapped her head over to Elizabeth when she heard an utter of her name to see her gesturing for her to come over. Giving a curt nod, Estella pushed her away from the door frame to an upright standing position and strolled obligingly over to the girl.

The minute she reached Elizabeth, the girl turned to her with a smile and extending the pile of dresses towards her. "Estella, can you help me hold these…? Thank you!"

When Estella took the pile of dresses from Elizabeth, her breath puffed out in surprise as her knees buckled slightly under the unexpected heavy weight of the dresses. Another arm shooting out to support the heavy weight, Estella steadied herself to straighten to an upright position and looked up to see that Elizabeth already have another smaller pile of newly added dresses in her arms. Grimacing in disgust when the girl took out a pink frilly dress, she eyed the dress as it got added onto the pile of dresses in the arm of the other female.

Gaping in bewilderment as her widened eyes flicked down to the enormous pile of dresses in her hand and then to the other pile in Elizabeth's arm, Estella raised both eyebrows at the exaggerating number of dresses which the girl picked.

"La-Lady Elizabeth…. I'm sure that these numbers of dresses you have picked would be enough…I suggest that we go straight into preparing…."

Elizabeth, who was scanning through the rows of dresses, turned to her and tilted her head with a smile. Her green eyes then flicked down to the enormous pile of dresses in the arms of Estella before they went wide in realization. She looked up at her with a sheepish smile.

"Oh no…I got so carried away that I didn't realize that I have already picked so many! Sorry, Estella….Oh dear, they must be heavy! Let me help you with some of those dresses…." Elizabeth extended her unoccupied hand towards her.

Estella flicked her eyes down to the hand before looking up at the girl. "No, it's okay. I can manage….So want to head back to my room now…?"

Elizabeth stared back for awhile before giving her a nod. "Alright….Let's go!"

Returning the gesture, Estella spun around and exited the room. Spinning around, just in time to see Elizabeth too stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

The girl turned around to face her with a wide smile on her face and chirped. "Let's head to my room instead!"

Tilting her head at the sudden change of venue, Estella shot back a smile before giving Elizabeth a curt nod. "Alright…."

'Let's go' was Elizabeth's only response before she started forward to lead them to their destination. Estella raised an eyebrow at how the girl hopped excitedly down the hallway before taking a step forward to follow.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Eyes widened as Estella stepped into the room after its owner; she gaped in awe at the size of the room. Following after Elizabeth further into the room, Estella glanced around the room while they were at it. The room looked about the size of two of her room. The huge crimson draped curtains hung at the either sides of the large window at the wall across the entrance, blocked the most of the sunlight from the outside, making the whole room dim. The bit of sunlight which shone through the gap between the two curtains was the only source of light, leaving the room not in total darkness. The bed which stood against the side wall of the left looked about the size of a king-sized bed. Its cover was a sea of pink and four soft toys sat slumped against the head board of the bed. Flicking her eyes down to the other end of the bed, she noted a cushioned bench which stood against its wooden board.

Padding across the beige carpeted floor, she noted the make-up equipments which sat on a dressing table located diagonally across the bed at the side wall on the right. Next to the dressing table, there stood a huge wardrobe.

Snapping her head back to Elizabeth when she heard an utter of her name, she saw that the girl was already across the room, standing by the side of the bed which now have a pile of dresses on it. Strolling over when Elizabeth waved her over, she stopped at the side of the bed and too placed the large pile of dresses in her arms down on the bed before turning to face Elizabeth.

"Alright. Let's get started!"

Elizabeth strolled over to the huge wardrobe the minute she said that and yanked the doors of it opened to reveal a large collection of clothes in it. While Elizabeth was strolling back, her eyes flicked down to the object that was clutched in her hands. The instant feelings of dread and disgust came swirling within her at the sight of the object which was one of the culprit that made her dislike wearing dresses. To be more specific, the type which she dislike wearing the most are the ones that are usually worn for formal events such as balls.

She gingerly reached out to receive that object from Elizabeth before lifting it to her eye level. Her eyes then narrowed at it as she shot it a look of disgust. Corset, the hateful bind which are worn to hold and shape the torso into a desired shape for beauty. Its tightness was the one that made her dislike wearing it.

Letting the arm which had the corset held by it, drop limply to her side, Estella shot the watching girl a pleading look and questioned. "Do I really have to wear this…?"

"Of course! I'm going to make sure you look extremely gorgeous, and that would be my welcome gift to you! So you have to wear it!..." Elizabeth extended a hand towards her and continued. "Come one, give that to me. I'll help you put it on."

"B-but I-"

"Please, Estella! Please! Just let me do this for you as a welcome gift! Come on, Estella, please…." Estella was about to protest as an attempt to convince her but gave in when Elizabeth shot her puppy eyes.

"Alright, alright...But I'll put it on myself."

Sighing in resignation, Estella glanced down at the corset in her hand and threw it a disgusted look.

"Alright! Thank you, Estella! Now, go and put that on!" Elizabeth ordered cheerfully.

Giving out another sigh of resignation, Estella asked halfheartedly. "Alright….May I use your bathroom…?"

"Of course! Go ahead!..." The girl chirped.

Turning to the direction of toilet which its entrance was located at the far left of the same wall as the one the bed stood against, Estella padded across the carpeted floor towards the toilet.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

After much struggle, the corset was successfully worn. Now She was standing stiffly at the side as she tugged at the hem of the corset which was now bind tightly around her torso, in discomfort. Tugging at the corset, Estella eyed the other female who was flipping through the pile of dresses on the bed. Standing there with a bored look, she watched on as Elizabeth continued flipping through them for the fifth piece of dress for her to try. Sighing heavily, Estella glanced down at the pile of worn dresses. She continued tugging at the hem of corset as she waited for her fifth piece.

Turning her head up over to Elizabeth when she gave an excited outcry, her eyes widened at the piece of dress the girl was holding by its hanger. It was a dark purple tube long dress with silver studs at its top and as well as on the ruffled designs which they were holding at near its end. She could not help but gape in awe at it. It was a simple yet beautiful piece of dress. Unlike the previous few dresses which have either too many complex designs or just too plain. This dress looks just right, not too plain or too complex.

Elizabeth walked towards her and handed it to her before she exclaimed excitedly. "I bet this dress will be the perfect one for you! Go on….try it!"

Carefully taking a hold on the dress, Estella gave the girl a curt nod before turning to the toilet to do what Elizabeth told her to do.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Blushing when an excited squeal emitted from Elizabeth the moment she stepped out of the toilet, Estella could not help but smile at her excitement.

"Oh my god! That dress definitely fits you! See, I knew it's the perfect dress for you!" Elizabeth chirped.

Estella only nodded in agreement at her. What Elizabeth said was true, it was indeed the perfect dress for her. She liked how the dress fitted just right for her and how it brought out her curves. Now that she have finally got used to the tight corset, Estella could move about with ease. Moving a hand down across the dress, she grew fond of its smoothness.

Looking up at Elizabeth, she nodded at her gratefully. "Thank you, Lady Elizabeth….You were right."

The girl only nodded in response before she spoke. "Alright, let's get your hair and make-ups done!..." Elizabeth strolled over to the dressing table and pulled out its cushioned stool before continuing. "….Come, sit down!"

Nodding at her, Estella strolled over and settled down on the stool and looked up to face the mirror. Staring at her reflection, it made her truly believe that it was indeed the perfect dress for her.

She then flicked her eyes away from hers to Elizabeth's when she spoke. "You have such a nice hair! Hmm…But something seems missing…Let me think…."

While Elizabeth was pondering over the matter, Estella studied her own reflection in the mirror, or more particularly the subject of the matter….. Her hair. She could not help but agree with Elizabeth, her fiery red hair was neither too straight nor too curly. By the look of her hair, they probably fall between the category of straight and curly. In other words, they are semi-straight. Still studying them, a feeling of pride for them swelled within her. She noted that her fiery red hair reached down to a satisfying length at the middle of her back, not too long or not too short.

Liking the feeling of her hair as she ran her fingers through a bunch of her side hair, Estella continued combing through them, still studying them at the same time. Frowning when she noted and realized that what Elizabeth said was true, something about it was indeed missing. Frown deepening in concentration, Estella flicked her eyes about her hair to search hard for answers to answer the nagging at the back of her mind.

Her eyes then flicked over to the other female's reflection in the mirror when Elizabeth gave out an outcry of realization.

"I know! Your hair looks fine….but since you are attending a ball, your hair needs to suit you _for _a ball…! I know….!" Raising an eyebrow at how overexcited the female looked, Estella gingerly returned the wide excited-looking smile Elizabeth shot her through the reflection in the mirror. Turning her attention back to her reflection in the mirror when Elizabeth strolled away, it took her a few moments to realize what Elizabeth stated was true. Her hair did look too plain for a ball.

Flicking her eyes away when a 'Found it!' emitted from somewhere behind her, the other girl spoke again in an excited tone.

"Alright, let's get started….!"

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

With an excited chirp of 'Done', her eyes widened at her reflection the moment Elizabeth stepped away. The either sides of her hair were pulled back to be swept up with the bit of the top portion of her back hair into a high puffy hair bun, making an up-swept hairstyle. The rest of her hair which were swept over her shoulder to the front, they trailed down to her chest, ending with loose curls. The light make-up which Elizabeth help her to put on made the skin on her face seemed to glow. The eyeliner and mascara made her ice blue eyes stand out even more. Her bright fiery red hair contrasted with the dark purple dress, was a compatible match despite of their contrast.

Turning to Elizabeth when she heard an utter of her name, Estella watched her strolled over to her with a pair of black flats clutched in one hand and a pair of silver high heels in the other.

"Do you prefer flats or high heels?..." The girl tilted her head at her in question with a smile.

Glancing from side to side at the two pairs in her hand, they landed on the flats before flicking up to the girl. "Flats."

Elizabeth nodded at her before extending the mentioned shoes to her. "Alright!...Hope they fits! Go on, put it on...!"

Accepting the shoes from her, Estella slipped her feet into them and was surprised to find out how comfortable they were. Frowning when she realized that they were a little loose, she shrugged indifferently at the slight looseness before looking up at the watching girl.

Nodding at her, she spoke. "It fits."

Elizabeth shot her an excited smile. "Great! Alright, stand up. Let me see…."

Obligingly standing up, Estella instantly cringed away when Elizabeth came too close to admire her work. Wincing when the girl gave out a high-pitched excited squeal, Estella fought hard to keep from clapping her hands over her ears at the high-pitched squeal.

Then letting a soft sigh of relief when Elizabeth stepped away with still the awed look on her face. Then the girl gave her a head-to-toes glance and chirped.

"You look CUTE!~…. Hmm…Wait, no…you look more of beautiful than cute. Aww….I was thinking of making you look cute but…." Elizabeth gave her another head-to-toes glance. When her green eyes flicked back up, the pout on her face instantly slipped into a smile and she spoke.

"Oh well…I still did make you look good!..So….Estella, do you like it…?"

Glancing down at her dress, Estella looked up again and nodded. "Of course. Thank you…"

The girl returned the nod with a wide smile before she turned to look at the clock which was hung on the wall beside the dressing table. Shooting the girl at a puzzled raised eyebrow when Elizabeth gasped, she questioned.

"Wha-What is it, Lady Elizabeth…?

"It's already 5:26pm! I've better go change!"

Snapping her head over to the clock behind, Estella widened her eyes at the time before turning back to Elizabeth. "I think I better head back to my room now…."

Elizabeth nodded and instantly marched to her wardrobe. Yanking open the doors, Elizabeth turned back to Estella who was about to turn towards the door. "Hope you like my gift!"

The girl shot her a wink before disappearing behind the doors of the wardrobe.

Nodding, Estella spoke to reply. "Like it. Thank you!"

Reaching out towards the handle of the door when she stopped in front of it, a 'You're welcome' chirped back in reply from the other girl.

Pulling open the door, Estella nodded at her response before stepping out into the hallway. Closing the door behind her, Estella hurried down the hallway towards her room.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

In the process of strolling down the flight of stair, Ciel glanced over to the source of the only chatter in the entrance hall to see all three of his incompetent servants chattering away excitedly beside the foot of the stairs. His eye widened slightly in surprise to see that all three has already prepared and assembled at their meeting point as he was half-expecting one of them to be the one who will be late to assemble. Nodding to himself with satisfaction at their readiness, Ciel strolled down the last few steps of the stair and landed at its foot.

The loud chatter from the trio instantly hushed down when they noticed his presence the minute he landed at the foot of the stair. The trio spun to face him and responded to his presence with bows.

"Young Master!" They greeted in unison.

Nodding back in return at their bows of acknowledgment, his eye flicked from each servant to another as he took head-to-toes glances at each of them.

Meirin, the only female servant currently present, was clad in a navy blue long strap dress which ends with slight puffiness at near its hem, reaching right above her knees. Her purple long hair was up in a puffy bun. Her attire made her look right for the coming ball. The only thing that made her overall appearance seemed slightly odd were her usual pair of glasses. But other than that, her appearance looked suitable for the ball.

Nodding at her overall appearance, Ciel flicked his eye over to the gardener of his household.

Finny was clad in a typical tuxedo of black. His hair was in their usual mess but looking at his overall appearance, he looked decent for a ball.

His eye flicked over to the last of his three incompetent servants and raised an eyebrow at his attire.

Bard was clad too in same outfit as Finny. However, it looked sloppy comparing to the other male. His not-very-properly-tucked inner piece, a button-down shirt which could be seen from the unbutton wide opened suit, had some part of its hem hanging loose from his black pants. His hair, like Finny's, was too in their usual mess. But overall, his attire was suitable for a ball besides the untucked bit of his button-down shirt and his unbuttoned suit.

Sighing at the sloppy dressing of the blond male, his eye flicked up to look at Bard. Then he spoke to order.

"Bard. Tuck in that shirt and button up your suit now."

Bard instantly responded with a salute. "Yes, Young Master!"

Once Bard was done with he was told to do, Ciel nodded satisfyingly at his newly tucked and buttoned suit. Then turning to the other younger blond male when he heard an utter of the name how his servants always address him as.

Shooting a raised eyebrow at him, Ciel spoke. "What is it….?"

Finny then spoke to question. "Erm….Whose ball are we attending….?"

Ciel stared at him for moment before speaking to answer. "Alois Trancy's…."

All three had their eyes widened at the information. Finny then nodded knowingly at his master.

Snapping his head over to a sound of approaching footsteps, Ciel nodded curtly at its owner in acknowledgment.

"Sebastian."

The said butler stopped at the outside of the circle of the group and uttered a 'Young Master' in reply, returning the gesture with a bow. "The carriages are prepared and are ready to go."

Nodding at his report, Ciel asked. "What is the time now, Sebastian…?"

The mentioned butler instantly took out his pocket watch and flipped it open to glance at the answer before snapping it back close. Slipping it back into his tailcoat, Sebastian glanced up at his master to answer that question.

"It's now 5:42pm…."

Frowning at the said time, Ciel turned to face the stairs. Looking up at the top of it, Ciel asked in frustration to no one in particular. "Then where are those two?..."

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Lifting up the hair which slipped back down to her back, Estella swept that bunch of hair over her shoulder like how it was like before it slipped down to her back. Her eyes then instantly went wide in realization as a feeling of dread fell upon her.

_The tattoo..._

Her mind was too occupied by the ball that she had completely forgot that sickening tattoo which SIGMA had gave her. A hand flew to the back of her neck in one swift motion to where it bears the tattoo, she let out a small gasp of horror.

_Oh no...Did Lady Elizabeth see that tatto_o...?_... No...I don't think so...Or else she could have asked me about it..._

Giving out a sigh of relief, she strolled over to her dressing table and reached out to yank one of its drawer out. Picking out a black ribbon, she closed the drawer and started tying it around her neck. When she checked that the tattoo was completely concealed by the ribbon_, _she nodded satisfyingly at the mirror_.  
><em>

Estella then took an overall glance once last time at her reflection in the mirror. Nodding satisfyingly again to her reflection, she turned towards the door and strolled towards it. Yanking its handle down, she pulled it opened before slipping through the gap to exit her room. Closing the door behind her with a small 'thump', she strolled off towards the direction of stairs. Holding up her dress a little as she moved across the carpeted floor, Estella could not help but suddenly feel a swell of excitement within her.

She then quickened her pace towards the direction of the meeting

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Ciel snapped his head over and looked up at the stair when a squeal of his name sounded from it. His eye widened when Elizabeth with her untied blond curly hair, clad in a light blue strap dress, ran excitedly down the stairs towards him. Sebastian instantly responded by greeting her with a bow. A choir of greetings followed after from the trio from somewhere behind him the minute they know of her arrival. The next thing he found himself in was in the arms of his fiancé, receiving his usual bone-crushing hug. Wincing at how she had hugged him too tightly, Ciel patted her back in return of the hug before struggling to peel her arms off him.

Managing to free himself from her bone-crushing hug, Ciel scooted slightly away from his fiancée before looking down to see her give him a head-to-toes glance.

He raised an eyebrow when the girl gave out a squeal. "What is it….?"

A smile cracked across her face as she spoke to answer. "It's just that…you look very handsome in that…"

The raised eyebrow rose even higher as Ciel glanced down at his attire.

He was now clad in a button-down shirt with a high-collared black jacket worn on the outside had a silver chain hung across his chest, and black shorts which reached right above his knees, with knee-high black gartered socks and boots.

"How a-"

Looking up to over to Elizabeth, Ciel frowned when he realized that he had no longer her attention as she had her back facing him. He then noticed at how her head was slightly inclined upwards towards the stairs. The next thing that Elizabeth chirped in excitement identified the reason for it.

"Estella! You're here!"

A choir of exclaimed acknowledgments came after, from the trio.

His head snapped up to the said girl, only to have his eye widened in response the moment it landed on her. There was the said girl clutching tightly onto the railing of the stair with one hand and another hand grabbing onto the fabric of her dark purple tube dress tightly in her fist as she took cautious steps down the stair. His eye could not help but catch the curves that this dress had showed off. Her fiery red hair stood out even more against the dark color of purple of her dress. The light make-up on her face seemed to bring out a glow on her skin.

Flicking his eye away to his butler, Ciel watched him extended his arm to offer a hand towards Estella which was instantly clutched on by her as she continued with still cautious steps down the stair, but, this time, with ease. The moment she landed at the foot of the stair, Estella let go of his hand and uttered a 'Thank you' to him, which Sebastian bowed with a 'Welcome' in return.

The trio led by Meirin then rushed over to her the moment Sebastian stepped away from her. The leader, who led them over to her, Meirin, turned to Elizabeth when she was done gushing over Estella, and exclaimed in amazement.

"Wo-Wow, La-Lady Elizabeth!... You've done an incredible job!..."

His fiancée beside him beamed in pride at her work and chirped. "Well, of course!..."

She turned to him and tilted her head at him with a wide smile on her face. "Don't you agree, Ciel?..."

His eye flicked over to the subject of the topic and gave her an overall glance before it flicked back to his fiancée. Giving her a curt nod in agreement, Ciel answered with a curt 'Aa.'

Then his eye flicked back to Estella and gave another gaze. His fiancée had indeed done an incredible job. As his eye slowly moved down from her head, he felt a small of surprise as he thought of how her fiancée was obsessed with making things or people 'cute', helped her prepared and the result turned out to be something of what he did not expected. Instead of being 'cute', Ciel could not deny that his fiancée had really done a good job in making her new victim look….he could not help but admit….so elegantly beautiful. Ciel fought hard to not gape in amazement at how the dress, her hairstyle and make-up could do this much enhancing to her appearance.

After he had finished with the overall gaze from her head to toes, Ciel looked up to see her head turning away from Meirin, spinning towards his direction. A feeling of panic perked up within him as Ciel tried to tear his gaze away from the girl as fast as possible. Not flicking it away from her fast enough for her to not notice his stare, Ciel grew rigid when Estella stared back with a raised eyebrow.

To hide his embarrassment of being caught staring, his eye flicked back to the girl and he shot back a raised eyebrow. Her raised eyebrow was then replaced by a look of indifference.

"Phantomhive…..Is thi-"

She then stopped in her midst of her question when Ciel narrowed his eye at her.

"…Oh….erm…I mean, _Master….._Is this okay for the ball?..."

Ciel paused for a moment before giving a curt answer in reply. "Decent."

Narrowing his eye again at the girl when she snorted at his answer, Ciel gave out a heavy sigh as he thought of how she was still the same Blancbaston girl afterall even under that dress and all that make-up.

Frowning when Finny nudged her at her side, she turned to see how he gave her an incredulous look with eyes flicking over to gesture at Ciel. Then turning to the person he was gesturing at, Estella noticed how Ciel had his visible eye narrowed at her and instantly know the reason for it. She shot Finny a sheepish look, and she turned back to Ciel.

"Oh….Erm….I'm now having a runny nose, don't mind that….."

Scoffing at her obvious attempt of trying to cover up her disrespect to him, Ciel shot her a cold glare. "Know your place, Blancbaston…."

Not bothering for a response, Ciel turned to all and spoke. "Alright. We now shall get going!"

Grunting in response at the choir of 'Yes, sir', Ciel turned to watch Sebastian directed an order to Bard. "Bard, take the second carriage…."

When Bard nodded firmly at that order, Ciel spoke again. "Let's head out!"

With that, he spun towards the door and started towards it with all the others following behind him. Estella, who trailed behind the excited trio, snorted and rolled her eyes at the retreating back of her master.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Estella watched in amusement at how excited Meirin and Finny were as they continued chatting on about the coming ball which they were now heading off to, on this carriage. It was hard to not to be amused by how they gestured their hands around dramatically as they went on with the chatter. In fact, their excitement was so contagious that now she herself was also starting to feel excited for the ball too. It had been about two years since she had ever attended a ball or any other social gatherings. She could not help but admit to herself that she did really miss it all.

Then slumping back on her seat, she flicked her eyes away from the two who sat opposite her, and gazed out of the window. The sky was filled with mixed patches of blazing color of reddish-orange and dominating color of dark blue as the celestial source of the reddish-orange begun its descend into the horizon, indicating dusk.

The carriage driven by Bard, trudged along a stone path behind the other carriage where her master and his fiancée occupied now. Estella then straightened up into an upright position against her seat when she caught sight of a manor from a distance. The golden-ish yellow light which shone through its windows made sighting of the manor even easier. Fondling with the velvet fabric of her dress, she watched as the fast flashes of dark and looming trees flashed passed, through the window.

With her head resting on the knuckles of an arm which was propped the arm of the seat she was now on, her gaze stayed fixed on the distant manor.

_Is that the manor….?_

Her unspoken question was then answered when Meirin who was pressing her face against the glass of the very same window she was looking through, chirped excitedly.

"There it is!"

She then leaned away from the glass and turned to Estella with an eager smile on her face, with an index finger jabbing repeatedly in an eager manner at the spot on the glass where the said manor was seen through.

"Estella….Do you see that manor there? That's the Trancy manor!"

An 'Oh' was Estella's only response as she frowned in concentration. Something nagged at the back of her mind at the mentioned name; she just simply could not figure out the reason for the nagging.

_Hmm…..Trancy…?_

Shrugging it off, Estella turned to Finny who sat beside her female co-worker when he uttered her name.

"Seriously, Estella….I'm still really surprised that Lady Elizabeth didn't dress you up in her weird 'cute' clothes! Do you know that I was even praying for you just now?...So how did it actually go….?"

Estella stared back at him for a moment before bursting into chuckles.

"Pray….? It was not _that_ bad….The only thing that scares me about her was her overwhelming enthusiasm, that's all…" She shrugged.

Both of her and Finny then turned to look at the outside through the window when Meirin announced their arrival at their destination. It was true. Estella watched as the carriage trudged through the wide opened huge gates, following after the leading carriage where their master and his fiancée sat in. Leaning in closer to the window, Estella studied the approaching manor and the land which it stood on. The lawns at the either sides of the stone path were seas of yellow flowers with a line of violet flower framing them. Her eyes then flicked over to the building. The enormous violet-roofed building with yellowish brown outer walls stood majestically tall in the shine of blazing reddish orange. The building looked seemly more majestic than her new home, the Phantomhive manor. Then she noted a small patch of the very same pattern as the two patches of lawn which the carriage had just trudged through, when the carriage rounded around it and stopped at the huge steps of stair at the manor's porch.

They had finally truly reached their destination, the Trancy manor.

When the door of the carriage swung opened to reveal Bard, Estella pushed herself up to a stand along with her two other fellow passengers. Finny then strolled over to the door with Meirin and her following behind. Watching as Finny landed with a heavy 'thump' on the ground, Meirin too followed suit with the help of the older blond man. Grasping the man's hand in hers, Estella gathered the fabric of her dress into tight fist and awkwardly got down from the carriage. Strolling a little away from the door so Bard can close its door, she snapped her head up to see that her companions from the both carriages had already assembled at the foot of the stairs. She turned and watched as the two carriages which were now led by Sebastian and Bard respectively on each, trudged off and away to allow any other entering carriages to take their places.

Turning back to her other companions, she saw that they were already starting to move, led by her master and his fiancée, towards the wide opened doors of the manor. Gathering the fabric of her dress in fists, Estella walked up beside to her co-workers and followed the two at the front along with them.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

The melodic tune of violins and cellos instantly greeted them the moment they stepped through the wide opened doors of the building. Dances could instantly be seen from at the mouth of the doors as duos in different colors danced across the purple carpeted floor. The chandeliers with glints of golden-ish yellow which were hung from the high ceiling bathed the room in golden-ish yellow light. The sides of entrance hall which were bustled with well-dressed businessmen and ladies were where most the chatters could heard from. Lines of tables on the either sides of the room were occupied with plates of food. Estella noted the three of purple-haired who all stood in the same upright standing position against the wall on the left of the room were dressed up in uniforms in the exact same way. They were all clad in a white long sleeved shirt with a brown vest on the outside and black pants.

She then snapped her head back to the front when an outcry of her master's name emitted from that direction. A boy came running up to greet her master in eagerness.

"Ciel~"

"Trancy." The said boy addressed the other male adolescent with a poison-laced voice. The look of utter disgust was clearly shown on his face; it was obvious that he have a great dislike for the boy. The Trancy boy was apparently oblivious to that look of disgust as he spun around in circles childishly, yelling in repetition.

"Ciel has arrived! ~"

Estella raised an eyebrow at his child-like behavior as she watched him continue with it. She then leaned in towards Finny who too shot a raised eyebrow at the ruckus and whispered in question.

"Is he okay….?"

Finny whispered back in response with eyes still fixed on the subject of the question. "….Erm…I don't think so…He also behaved like that when we were invited to his Halloween party last October. "

"What's his full name…?"

"I only know him as 'Alois Trancy'…..

"Alois….?"

The male only nodded in confirmation as a response. Estella then flicked her eyes over to the subject and studied him.

The sides of his light blond hair curled inwards, curtaining his creamy porcelain-looking face. His eyes were a light shade pair of blue. The white button-down shirt underneath a green vest that he was clad in can been seen through his unbuttoned long plum purple frock coat. A black shorts and long black stockings with brown high heel boots clad the lower half of his body. She also noticed that he was a few inches taller than her master.

She then flicked her eyes back to Ciel when he spoke coldly, responding to Alois's childish behavior with an annoyed look on his face.

"_Shut up_, Trancy."

Obviously oblivious to that, Alois continued with his ruckus. He then abruptly stopped and threw out both arms in a welcoming gesture at something behind them.

"Oh! Sebastian, you're here! ~"

Attentions from the group turned at this to see the said butler strolling in with Bard following behind. The said butler then only narrowed his eyes at the Trancy and uttered in acknowledgment. "Trancy."

Alois then suddenly burst out into a fit of giggles in response before giving out an enthusiastic yell of a name. "Claude! ~"

Estella could not help but stared dumbfounded at that odd behavior. She then decided that this Trancy boy was indeed mentally unstable. Then flicking her eyes over to an approaching butler, they followed him as he strolled towards them and stopped beside the boy. They then widened at how that butler reminds her of Sebastian when she got a better view of the butler.

The tall man, who was addressed by Alois as 'Claude', had raven black hair which length was similar to Sebastian's. The only difference in his hair was that his fringe was swept back, unlike Sebastian's. Another thing that made him looked similar to Sebastian was his height. The other thing that made him look different from Sebastian was the pair of glasses which sat on the bridge of his nose.

The butler bowed at Alois with a gloved hand on a chest. "What is it, Your Highness…?"

The eyes of the boy lit up as he turned to the man beside him. "Claude! Come, greet your dear friend, Sebastian!"

Claude stared stonily down at him and spoke. "I'm afraid you have mistaken, he is never my friend."

He then turned to Sebastian. "Sebastian."

The said butler narrowed his eyes at him with intense hatred and returned the acknowledgment menacingly. "Claude."

Estella eyed the both butlers and shuddered at the tense atmosphere between them. The tense atmosphere was then broken by Alois when he spoke.

"Ciel~ so you brought your servants? ~"

Estella instantly grew rigid when the eyes of the boy flicked from each of her co-workers and finally stop fixed on her. He turned to Ciel and spoke. "A new one? ~"

Alois skipped over and stopped in front of her. Frowning, Estella leaned away in discomfort when the boy came too close to her, leaving only a small gap between their noses. Clutching the fabric of her dress in tight fists, she fought hard against the strong urge of wanting to punch his face away. Her eyebrows moved down to form into a heated glare when the boy took a small bunch of her hair and twirled them between his fingers. Estella gave out an exasperated sigh and with a swift movement, she slapped his hand away.

Stepping away to break the close proximity, she snapped her head up at the boy to see him stare surprised at her. She glared at him and spoke in a menace-laced voice.

"Do. Not. Touch. Me…..Understood, Trancy?"

She then ignored the small gasp which emitted from Finny who gave her a look of bewilderment from her side. Well, no conditions in her contract with her master said anything about needing to respect others, and in this case, she felt that it was not a need to give this boy any.

Ciel and Elizabeth stared shock with widened eyes along with her co-workers at her.

A small unnoticeable smirk then cracked across Ciel's face. He was kind of glad for the girl's braveness, could not help but admit that he actually liked how she got back at the hateful boy. Maybe her defiance was not exactly a bad thing afterall….

The surprised look on Alois's face changed into an amused smirk as he tugged hard at her hair causing the glaring girl to wince. "Feisty, aren't you? ~"

"You-"

Her eyes instantly widened at him when he suddenly reached out and snatched up one of her arm. With a tug on her arm, the next thing she felt was her head colliding onto something hard and an instant feeling of warmth could be felt radiating from it. Estella then gave out a small shriek of surprise when she felt an arm snaked around her waist. Head moving up against it in a swift motion, she snapped her head up to see Alois staring down at her with an amused smirk.

Blinking frantically at him, Estella stammered between a snarl as her eyebrows moved down to form a heated glare.

"Wha-what the hell are you doing?"

She raised an eyebrow at him when he suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. Once the giggles died down, the boy chirped.

"Why are you asking such a stupid question? Of course, to dance! ~"

She shot him an incredulous look in return. "Dance…? Who wants to dance with _you_….? Now….Let go of me!"

Squirming, Estella struggled to break herself out of the arm which was enclosed around her. Her attempt was obviously fruitless when the arm around her tightened even more in response as Alois watched her struggle in amusement with a lopsided smirk.

Snapping her head up at him with a glare, she said menacingly. "Let. Me. Go."

"No." The lopsided smirk cracked even wider across his face.

Estella narrowed her eyes dangerously at him and growled. "Why you…."

Estella then gave out an exasperated sigh at another failed attempt of trying to free herself; she turned to her co-workers with a pleading look, but only to return with apologetic looks. Then she flicked her eyes over to Sebastian who watched with an emotionless look plastered on his face before flicking them back up to glare at Alois.

Obviously oblivious to it, Alois gave out chuckles of amusement at her struggle and looked away from her over to her master.

"Ciel~ let me borrow her, will you? ~"

Not bothering for any response, Alois dragged the protesting girl in his arm away to join the dances in the centre of the room.

Glaring at Alois's retreating back, his eye followed the duo until they disappeared out of sight into the dance which was located in the middle. Frowning in concentration, Ciel tried to figure out the reason for the sudden of unexplained feeling of bitterness stirred within him during the moment when he saw the hateful mad boy pulled that girl into his arm. Sighing in frustration when he simply just could not answer the nagging at the back of his mind, Ciel decided that the redundant matter was not a worth of his time and shrugged it off.

He then turned to the remaining of his servants and spoke. "Meet back here at 8pm. One of you is to make sure that Blancbaston is informed of this. Understood?..."

When the trio responded with a choir of 'Yes, sir', Ciel nodded curtly and spoke again. "Alright, go ahead and enjoy this ball."

Another choir of 'Yes, sir' responded in return. Ciel then turned to his watching fiancée beside him with an extended hand towards her. "Let's dance."

Her eyes lit up at this and Elizabeth instantly grabbed hold of the waiting hand and chirped with an eager smile. "Of course!"

Nodding curtly at her, Ciel pulled her by her hand in his and led them to the center of the room to join the dance.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

The way his arm snaked around her in a tight hold, made her head press constricted against his chest. Her feet fought hard to keep up with the male's pace as he dragged her, weaving through dancing duos into the inner circle of the dance. The moment they were done weaving through and stopped at a spot, Estella instantly pulled her head away from his chest and shot him a glare. Alois who was apparently oblivious to it, reached to her arms. Ignoring her protests, he placed one on his shoulder and grabbed the other in his hand. His other hand rested on the lower part of her back before started moving to sway them to the music.

Estella gave him an irritated glare. "Hey, didn't I already told you that I- "

"Just dance." Alois curtly snapped at her.

Frowning at him, she gave out a sigh of resignation and gave in to him. An expression of utter sullen plastered on her face as she continued swaying with him to the music. Estella spun her head to the side to observe the other duos.

The small orchestra of violins and cellos, playing at the corner of the room, filled the room with a light and melodious tune. Dancing duos around them twirled about the dance floor to the music. Faces of contentment and joy could be seen on almost of all dancers, her face was the only one that held a sullen one. Her eyes flicked to the sound of girly giggles to see her master and his fiancée dancing across the dance floor. The look on her master's face and the look on Elizabeth's were a complete contrast. An emotionless look remained plastered on his face as her master gazed down at his smiling fiancée, twirling her around to the music.

Her eyes flicked back up at Alois when she felt him release his hold on her hand, she watched as the hand reached out to a curled lock of her hair and started fondling with it. She then frowned at him when he lifted it up to a side of his face and started brushing the lock of hair repeatedly against it.

She shot him an incredulous look as she watched him continued with his caressing. "Trancy. Seriously, what's with you and my hair….?"

Alois flicked his eyes over to her and burst out into a fit of giggles. He then chirped happily. "Nothing~"

Estella tried to cringe her head away when the boy suddenly leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers, but her attempt to do so failed when the hand on her lower back slide up to a little higher up on her back, constricted her, only enabling her to cringe her head slightly away. Grimacing in discomfort at how close was his face was to hers, she glared at him and was ready to yell. However, she suddenly grew rigid when a whisper of a name emitted from the male.

"Luca…"

She still remained rigid even when the boy finally broke the uncomfortable close proximity, pulling back to a standing position. The faraway look on his face was then into an eager one. The hand on her back then slid back down to the lower part of her back as he eagerly snatched up her hand to hold it up in his free hand to continue with their dancing.

Estella raised both eyebrows in question at the eager look on his face. The next thing Alois said was the reason for it when his eyes lit up and exclaimed excitedly.

"I know, I know! I'll call you Luca!"

She then blinked at him in bewilderment. "Luca?..."

Alois nodded his head in an eager manner. "Yes,yes~ Now, say it!"

Estella frowned up at him in question. "Say what?..."

A lopsided grin broke across his face. "Yes, Your Highness….!"

She eyed him in bewilderment and scoffed.

"No. Why should I-"

"I said now!" Alois screeched impatiently, interrupting her. His lopsided grin drooped down into gritted teeth as he shot her a dark scowl.

Estella could only blink at him, stunned by his sudden outburst. She then winced when the hand which held hers tightened its grip into a painful hold. Her attempt to pull her hand out of the hold, only made his grip on hers tighten even more.

The male narrowed his eyes dangerously at her and snarled. "NOW!"

The further tightening of his grip on her hand made the already present pain become an even more excruciating one. Whimpering in pain, her vision blurred as tears started forming at the brim of her eyes. Not able to withstand the pain any longer, her breath puffed out in resignation and she gave in to his request.

"Y-Yes, Your Highness….."

Eyes lighting up at this, a grin cracked across his face. "Aa….That's better, Luca!"

Estella frowned, irking at how he kept addressing her with that foreign name. Her eyebrows then moved down to shoot him an irritated glare. "My name isn't Luca! It's Estella! So will you stop calling me 'Luca'?..."

Alois threw a grimace of disgust at the girl in his arm. "Estella….? How disgusting!"

His hand released his hold on hers and reached out to give her hair a hard tug before lifting it up closer to his face. His head snapped back down to her face with the look of disgust still plastered on his.

"This stupid red hair of yours reminds me too much of Luca. How annoying…..!"

He then released his hold on her hair and reached down to seize her hand again to hold it up in his like earlier again. The disgusted look on his face then lit up with a deranged lopsided smile.

"Hmm….Then it's settled, I'll call you Luca~" He chirped happily.

When she was about to open her mouth to protest, Alois threw her an annoyed scowl. "Be quiet!"

The scowl then slipped into a wide eager smile as his eyes lit up at something behind. The next thing that made her grow rigid was when the male suddenly leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. When he pulled away, her eyes flicked up to his face in bewilderment.

"Wha-What the h-"

"Sorry, Luca~ I'll dance with you later!" He said in a sing-song voice, interrupting her.

Not bothering for a response, Alois released her from his arm and skipped away to somewhere behind her, yelling in the same sing-song voice. "Claude~"

Estella just turned and stared dumbfounded as the boy pulled his stoic butler into the dance floor, chirping aloud. "Claude, dance with me~"

She could see the glint of annoyance in the eyes of the said butler. Alois who was apparently oblivious to it, burst into a fit of giddy giggles as he leaned his head against the said butler's chest with arms wrapped around him. Claude just peered down at him wordlessly, no hint of emotions apparent on his face.

Estella shook her head in bewilderment at the giggling male. She then frowned in annoyance at the thought of he had just casually gave her a name when he was already well aware that she already have one. The frown deepened in ire at the peck the boy had given her on her forehead. Her face then distorted with a grimace of disgust as she reached up to the spot on her forehead where Alois had kissed on, and started rubbing at it. She shuddered at the lingering feeling of his lips on it.

Sighing heavily, Estella turned away from the duo and weaved her way through the other dancing duos to leave the dance floor.

_Crazy weirdo…I'm surprised that the Trancy boy was not yet captured to be sent to the mental hospital…..Hn._

Her eyes lit up when they spotted the familiar face of her new home's butler, Sebastian who stood stoically at the side, watching the whole on-going dance.

Sighing in relief to see someone she know, Estella gathered the fabric of her dress up in fists and quickened her pace towards him.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

A familiar unexplained feeling of bitterness came as a stab just at the time when Ciel witnessed the hateful mad boy leaned forward and pecked on his partner's forehead, which he somehow managed to face the direction of the dancing duo and witness while he was twirling around with Elizabeth in his arm to the music. Ciel frowned irritably at the nagging feeling which stirred within him as his eye followed the girl as she weaved out to leave the dance floor. The moment she disappeared out into the outer layer of it, Ciel flicked his eye to the mad boy to see him dancing with his stoic butler. He instantly scoffed at the boy's childish and inappropriate behavior.

He then flicked his eye down to peer down at his fiancée when Elizabeth spoke.

"Ciel….That Trancy friend of yours..."

Ciel threw her an insulted look and scoffed even before she could finish. "Friend….? That mad boy is never my friend….."

Elizabeth tilted her head at him in question. "Then what is he….?"

"Just somebody who is really annoying…" He replied nonchalantly.

Elizabeth nodded knowingly in response and spoke again. "He seemed really…..enthusiastic…."

"Enthusiastic…? Hn. That would be an understatement. 'Insane' would suit him better….." Ciel replied matter-of-factly.

"Hmm….Why 'Insane'?..."

Ciel peered down at her for a brief moment before speaking to give her a curt answer. "You will have to see for yourself."

He raised an eyebrow when his fiancée only pouted at him in response as he half-expected her to keep pushing him for answers.

Shrugging to himself, the pair resumed focusing on their dance in silence.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Sensing an approaching presence, Sebastian peered over to the direction of it to see his new subordinate strolling towards him. He returned a curt nod when she nodded at him in acknowledgment. When she stopped beside him, she greeted him with a small smile.

"Sebastian."

The said butler returned the smile with a gentlemanly one of his. "Estella."

He shot a raised eyebrow at her when she suddenly shook her in bewilderment at him for an unknown reason. Tilting his head at her odd behavior, he questioned with the gentlemanly smile still plastered on his face. "What is it….?"

The girl gave out an exasperated sigh before speaking to answer him. "That Trancy….Is he always like that….? This crazy….?"

Sebastian stared down at her for moment before nodding. "Unfortunately, yes."

Another exasperated sigh was the girl's only response before she snapped her head up at him again. "Sebastian….What time is it….?"

Instantly taking out his pocket watch, Sebastian flipped it opened and glanced at the answer for her question before snapping it back close. Slipping it back into his jacket, Sebastian flicked his eyes to the girl and gave her a curt answer. "7:26pm."

Estella frowned at the answer and sighed. How she wish she could leave now, she definitely does not want another torturous dance with Alois.

Snapping her head back up at the silent butler, she asked irritably. "What time are we going to leave this place…?"

Sebastian peered down at her with raised eyebrows. "Didn't any of the three tell you…? We are supposed to meet at the entrance at 8pm….."

She gaped at him in surprise. "8pm….?"

When Sebastian nodded in confirmation, Estella gave out a sigh of relief. A few more minutes to go before they leave this place, and when it's time, she would be safe from another dance with the Trancy boy.

Silence prevail the air between them as her eyes flicked around the hall in search for her co-workers. They then stopped when she spotted them sitting at a table, chatting away merrily with each other.

Turning to the butler when she heard an utter of her name, Estella flicked her eyes down to see the waiting hand which was extended towards her before flicking them up to its owner with a questioning look.

Sebastian bowed to her with a gentlemanly smile and spoke. "Shall we dance…..?

Staring at the waiting hand, Estella looked back up at the butler and accepted it with a smile. "Alright."

Estella then frowned when she realized she was too short to place her hand on his shoulder. "Sebastian….you're too tall for me…."

It was true. She was indeed too short for the tall man as she only did reached his chest.

The said butler peered down at her in amusement and chuckled before he reached for the smaller hand which was clung onto his shoulder by its fingers, and slid it to his side, resting it on the part of his arm right under his shoulder.

"Aa…this should be fine."

The girl just shrugged and let him lead them to blend into the group of dancing duos at the dance floor to join the dance.

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

Strolling back to the side with Sebastian, Estella thanked him for the dance. When a gentlemanly smile returned as response, she turned to the front to focus on their progress towards the side. The dance was enjoyable, unlike her first one with Alois. She indeed did enjoy it. Sebastian was the one who had expertly led them through the dance. It was definitely much better than her first one with her first dance partner who annoyingly kept addressing her 'Luca' for whatsoever reason.

Slumping against the purple wall with arms folded across her chest, Estella surveyed the on-going dance in the middle of the room along with the silent butler. Her eyes scanned across the group of dancing duos and spotted her master and his fiancée who were still twirling around together to the melodious tune of the violins and cellos. She then grew rigid when her eyes flicked away from the two and spotted her first dance partner, who stood at the inner of the dance group, glancing around in search for something.

A heavy feeling of dread fell upon her when he started chirping loudly in a sing-song voice, enough to be heard over the music.

"Luca~"

Watching with wide opened eyes as the boy weaved around dancing duos, she snapped her head over to the silent butler beside and hastily spoke. "Aa…I need to go to the bathroom….See you at 8!"

Not waiting for any response, Estella gathered the fabric of her dress in tight fists and sprinted off to get as far from the dance floor as possible.

Coming to an abrupt halt at the other side of the room, Estella turned her head behind and her eyes instantly shot wide opened when she saw the boy strolled towards her direction, not noticing that the person he was looking for was actually just ahead of him.

_Shit…He's coming!_

Glancing around with her eyes flicking about wildly, they stopped and fixed at the huge door which stood across her. Without a second thought, Estella sprinted towards and yank it open before disappearing into the gap between the doors.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

The ragged sound of her breath could only be heard as she slumped against the door, breathing hard to calm herself.

_Whew! Nearly got caught by that stupid Trancy…!_

Straightening to an upright standing position after she had calmed herself down, Estella instantly grew rigid with wide opened eyes at the familiar sight of a dimly lit deserted hallway in front of her. Gingerly taking a few steps forward, her wide opened eyes flicked to the stretch of the lavender carpeted floor, then to the stretches of golden-ish yellow wallpaper at the walls at the either sides of the hallway.

Gasping, her knees buckled under her and she fell hard on the floor when flashbacks started flashing across her mind as her eyes flicked side to side at these two features of the hallway.

_Sound of broken glass….-__**flash-**__….Fleeing down the hall, padding along the lavender carpeted floor with her mother….__**-flash-**__….. Her mother whispered, "Don't. Don't look back, don't ever look back."…..__**-flash-**__…. The anxious look on her mother's face….__**-flash-**__….Bloodcurdling screams….. __**–flash-**__…"…And it looks like…I won't be able to see you turn twelve…"….__**-flash- **__….her mother turning her back to her…__**-flash-**__…..Golden-ish yellow walls splattered with blo-_

Hands flying to her head, a shriek emitted from the trembling girl as she shook her head, trying to shake off those tormenting flashes of memories. Tears trailed down her cheeks in rivulets as Estella collapsed on all fours with her elbows propped on the carpeted floor.

"Enough….Stop….Go away…." She whimpered between sobs.

The grips of her hands on her head tightened as she continued to fight off the haunting flashes of her memories.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Ciel tapped his foot impatiently as his eyes flicked about at each of his companions to find one of them missing. Frowning at the absence of the missing person, he spun to the three of his servants and narrowed his eyes at them.

"Did you guys inform her that she was supposed to meet with us at this time….?" He asked irritably.

The trio looked nervously at each other before the younger blond male of the trio spoke up. "We coul-"

Finny was interrupted when Sebastian held a hand at him as a sign for him to stop talking. Sebastian then turned to Ciel with a small bow.

"I have already informed her of that, Young Master."

Ciel frowned at his butler. "Then where is she now…?"

"She told me that she needed to go to the bathroom and rushed off…" Sebastian gestured to a huge door at the left side of the door and continued."…..I saw her disappear through these doors. However, that was about twenty minutes ago when I witnessed her exit the hall through them…."

Ciel threw his butler an incredulous look. "Twenty minutes…?"

Elizabeth beside him too exclaimed in disbelief at this. "That long…?"

"Why isn't she back yet….?" Ciel asked to no one in particular.

His eye then suddenly widened at a thought of a very possible reason for her lateness. Growing rigid at that thought, a small stab of worry nagged at him. _Don't tell me...again…."_

He then decided that he would better go find her himself as he thought of how the girl would not like it if other people saw her vulnerability, and since he had encountered it himself once, so it would better as he will be the one who will see it again.

Turning his attention to his silent companions, he cleared his throat and ordered. "Stay here. I'll go find her since I'm the only one that had been to the other parts of this manor before…."

He then spun to Sebastian who shot an eyebrow at his order, and continued. "….Sebastian, you stay here too…"

Ciel was about to start off towards the huge door when a happy loud chirp came from the front. "Ciel~"

His eyebrows moved down into a glare the instant he saw Alois skipping over to him from the dance floor.

Ciel then snarled out at him in annoyance. "Get lost, Trancy!..."

Not bothering about the approaching boy, Ciel stalked off to the left side of the room towards the huge doors.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Closing the door behind him, Ciel looked around at the dimly lit deserted hallway before cautiously moving down it. Gingerly taking steps forward, Ciel continued glancing around the hallway. His breath then puffed out in surprised when he felt his foot hit something. Stepping back a little, he looked down hastily to identify the object. The instant he looked down, his eyes widened to see the girl he was searching, knelled on the carpeted floor with her elbows which hands are clutching her head, were propped on the floor. Her dress spreading around her on the floor laid in a crumpled mess as her whole body shook to her soft sobs. The top part of her hair which was in a puff bun was now hung loose.

He gazed sadly down at her trembling form. He was right, it has happened again. Relieved that he was here alone to witness this portray of her vulnerability, he thought of how the girl will feel if other people saw her vulnerability. It was the same for him too last time when he had his own vulnerable period of time, right after the time he had finally escaped from the sickening cult. And his most vulnerable period of time lasted for weeks. During that period of time, he did not want people to see his vulnerability, and even now, he still did not want his still-present vulnerability to be apparent to others. The last thing he wants is pity. Stupid unnecessary pity. And he was sure that this girl would not want it too.

Strolling to kneel in front of her, Ciel clutched both hands onto her shoulders and shook her. "Blancbaston….It's okay….I'm here…"

He then heard a hitch of her rasped breath. The girl then slowly let her hands which was clutched onto her head slip off to her sides before lifting her head up to face the male. Ciel widened his eyes at the sight of the ruined make-up on her face as tears continued trailing down her cheeks. Slipping his handkerchief out from the inner pocket of his jacket, Ciel reached it out towards her face and started wiping her tears and the smudged make-up on her face.

His hand then stopped when the girl clutched onto the wrist of it. She spoke in a rasped whimper. "It's okay…I'll do that by myself…thank you…."

Ciel instantly offered the handkerchief which was clutched in his hand that hovered over mid-air, to her. Estella gratefully accepted it and continued the action he did earlier before she stopped him.

When she was done cleaning her face, leaving not a single hint of smudged make-up and tears on it, Estella looked up at him and whimpered pleadingly. "Can we _please_ get out of this place now…?"

Nodding at her request, Ciel got up from his kneeling position before extending a hand towards her. "Let's go."

Grasping the waiting hand, Estella shakily stood up, and uttered a 'Thanks' to him when she got up. The boy nodded back in return and ushered her to start walking first.

She then obligingly strolled over to the huge door with Ciel trailing behind.

Ciel raised an eyebrow at her when her hand which was reaching out to the handle, paused, hovering over mid-air.

"What is it…?"

The girl hesitantly spun her head to look over at him over her shoulder. "Phantomhive….Sorry…I mean...erm... Master….Please do not tell anyone of this…."

Ciel stared back at her for a moment before giving her a nod. "Of course."

The girl uttered. "Thank you, Master…."

She then turned back to the door and yanked its handle down. They then stepped out of the dimly lit hallway into the bright entrance hall.

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	11. The Watching Eyes

**Chapter 10**

* * *

><p>The melodious tune from the orchestra instantly greeted them the moment they stepped out into the brightly lit entrance hall. When an utter of 'Let's go' emitted from Ciel who was behind her, Estella nodded in response and took a step forward to start their progress towards the direction of the meeting point.<p>

She then stopped in her tracks when her eyes landed on a pair of black loafers in front of her. Raising her head up to identify its owner, a small feeling of surprise stab at her as her eyes flicked up to the owner's face and widened as they landed on it. It was the butler of that Trancy boy. The name of his that she could only faintly recall as Clau...Clau….de.

A response from Ciel confirmed that her faint remembrance of his name was right.

"What do you want, Claude…?" The male behind her questioned with a voice filled with utter hostility.

The said butler gave a small bow before glancing up.

"My master ordered me to find the both of you."

Ciel narrowed his eyes at the butler in response and spoke to reply coldly.

"Apparently, there is no longer a need for that."

Not caring for a response, Ciel strolled forward and paused beside Estella. Jutting his chin towards the direction of the meeting point, he ordered.

"Let's go."

Without a word, Ciel strolled past the silent butler. Eyes following him, Estella flicked them over to the butler and gave him a curt nod before starting forward to follow. Gathering the fabric of her dress into fists, she quickened her pace so to catch up with the boy. Slowing down when she neared the boy, she trailed after him in a same strolling pace.

A sudden strong nagging urge to look back won and made her comply with it. Complying with the urge, Estella turned her head to look over her shoulder. Her eyes instantly widened in surprise to see that the butler was watching, not them but _her_,very intently with narrowed eyes. She shuddered inwardly at the realization that she was being watched very intently.

Frowning, she snapped her head back to the front. A stir of puzzlement and worry nagged at her. Estella could not help but shudder again as she could feel that disturbing feeling of the intense gaze on her. Usually when people do this, she would either yell at them or at least throw them a glare. But this time, she just could not even manage a glare at this particular male. Simply could not. The way the butler was eying her crept her out too much that the intensity of his gaze was making her shudder.

Tightening her hold onto the fabric in her fists, she let out a frustrated sigh and decided to brush off the feeling of that disturbing gaze.

Noticing from over the leading male's shoulder, Estella realized that her already-gathered companions was waiting at somewhere near the huge entrance doors. The instant they nearing the edge of the group, a high-pitched outcry greeted them.

"Ciel! ~"

Flicking her eyes over to the owner of that high-pitched outcry, she watched Elizabeth rushed towards the said boy. An amused smirk cracked across her face as she watched the said boy grew rigid at his approaching fiance.

"E-Elizabeth…?" His eye widened in horror at the approaching female.

His face distorted with pain when the female yanked him towards her and instantly wrapped her arms around him into a bone-crushing hug. The grimace of pain on his face made the smirk on her face widened as she watched on in amusement. The smirk on her face then drooped down when a familiar sing-song voice called out to her with her new nickname emitted from behind.

"Luca~"

An arm slung itself over her right shoulder and across, with its hand resting on her other shoulder, in a swift motion. Eyes widening in horror, she grew rigid at it. Pulled backwards, the next thing she felt was her back colliding into a body. Another arm did the same as the other as she let out a heavy sigh. Who would always address her with the name of 'Luca'? No one but that annoying crazy weirdo, Alois Trancy.

"What is it, Trancy….?" She drawled in annoyance.

The body against her back rumbled as the said boy burst into a fit of giggles. "Luca! Why are you asking such a stupid question…? Well, of course to see you! Where did you go?... I couldn't find you!..."

Estella gave out an irritated groan. "I'm NOT Luca! Stop calling me that, will you?..."

"Silly Luca, why shouldn't I call you 'Luca'…? You _are_ Luca!" Another fit of giggles emitted from him. The minute the giggles died down, he continued. "….Let's dance, Luca!~"

"No. We're leaving already." Estella huffed in response.

"Really…?"

Before she could even respond to that, Alois called out over to Ciel who was still busy trying to free himself from his fiance's arms.

"Hey, Ciel!~"

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Ciel paused at his attempt of trying to break himself out of the hug to call out to his watching butler.

"Sebastian!"

His said butler strolled obligingly over to the duo and gave him a small bow. "What is it, Young Master…?"

"Get the carriages, we are leaving."

Sebastian gave him a curt nod and replied. "Of course."

Then giving him a bow again, Sebastian turned away from his master and directed an order at Bard. "Let's get the carriages."

Watching as Sebastian and Bard strode off towards the huge entrance doors to get down to their task, Ciel glanced down at his fiance and sighed. He just simply could not understand why Elizabeth always have to hug him every time she sees him. It seemed almost like an obsession.

Letting out another sigh, he gave the girl a pat on her back. "Elizabeth. Enough wi-"

The girl glanced up at him with a pout. "It's Lizzy!"

"Okay. Eliza-…Aa…_Lizzy_. Can you-"

A very familiar voice which came from somewhere behind, interrupted him.

"Hey, Ciel!~"

Elizabeth instantly detached herself from the said boy at this. Seeing that she had released him, Ciel gave out a sigh of relief.

Then turning full-body to the direction of the voice, his eye widened when he saw that his new servant who have a look of utter annoyance plastered on her face, was in a close proximity with the owner of that voice. The voice belonged to the hateful mad Alois Trancy who now had a deranged lopsided grin on his face. A nagging stab of bitterness and mostly, annoyance, came at Ciel the moment his eye landed on them to see them in this proximity.

Eyebrows moving down to glare, he snapped. "What?"

"Do you mind giving me this servant girl of yours to me….?" The boy asked in a hopeful sing-song voice.

A bewildered outcry of 'No' instantly emitted from the subject of the question. Gasps of horror and shock came from his listening companions the moment Alois asked the question.

The already-present glare deepened as Ciel replied in a menace-laced voice. "Don't be ridiculous, _Trancy_. Quit wasting my time, let go of her now. We need to leave."

The grin on Alois's face instantly drooped into a face with a look of disappointment. "Aww….That's too bad…"

The face with the look of disappointment then lit back up to the face with the lopsided grin as Alois spun the girl around to face him.

"Luca! Let me do this before you leave…."

The next thing the boy done left her watching companions in shock.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Estella nearly let out a shriek when the boy behind suddenly spun her around to face him. A lopsided grin could be seen plastered on his face.

"Luca! Let me do this before you leave…."

"Do wha-"

Stopping in the midst of her question when his hands suddenly reached out to rest themselves each at the either sides of her cheeks, she watched with wide eyes as Alois suddenly leaned his head towards hers.

An agony-laced whisper then emitted from the male.

"I miss you _so_ much….Luca…"

Gasps could be heard from her companions who were somewhere behind.

It took her a few moment for her realize what he was about to do when she saw that his lips was hovering over hers. Hastily pushing him away, a brush of lips still became the undesirable result despite of her attempt to stop him. Breaking away from him, Estella stumbled back a few steps before glancing up at him with a look of bewilderment.

Glaring heatedly at him, she stammered between a snarl. "W-What d-do you think you are doing?"

Alois instantly bursting out into a fit of giggles, made it seemed as though what was just about to happen before she stopped him was the most natural thing to do.

Still giggling, he waved his hand in a way as though he could brush her comment away.

"L-Luca….Did you know how you reacted to that….? Your reaction was so hilarious…!"

Deepening her glare at him, Estella started rubbing at her lips. Her face then distorted with a grimace of disgust. "What's wrong with you…? You can't go around randomly kissing people….!"

A deranged lopsided smirk was his only response.

Shaking her head in bewilderment at him, Estella spun around to face her companions. Then flicked her eyes to her watching master to see him glaring at the male behind her. Shrugging, she called out to him.

"Phantom…Aa….Master!"

When she saw that he had flicked his attention to her, she continued. "Can we _please_ leave now…?"

Her master glanced at the male behind her before flicking his attention back to her.

"Of course."

Ciel then turned to Alois with a glare. "We shall be leaving now, Trancy."

Then there was brief pause. With his glare deepening to a heated one as he spoke again in a menace-laced voice. "And...what you did to my servant was absolutely inappropriate. Behave yourself, _Trancy_. "

Not caring for a response, Ciel turned away to face his still-gaping servants. "It's time to move out. Let's go."

Then turning his head to look at her over his shoulder, he jutted his chin, gesturing at the huge entrance doors. Nodding in response, Estella gave the male behind her a last glare before striding off to exit the building along with the others.

She then paused at the mouth of wide opened doors when Alois yelled over in a sing-song voice from behind.

"Bye, Luca~ I'll make sure to visit you next time! ~"

Turning her head to look at him over her shoulder, she yelled back. "No need!"

Then facing the front again, Estella stepped out of the building and was instantly greeted by a blast of cold breeze. Shuddering at the icy cold fingers of the breeze when it brushed against her skin, she quickened her pace to join the others who was already in the waiting carriages.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Clutching the helping hand offered to her by Bard, she uttered a 'thanks' to him before lifting herself up to climb aboard onto the carriage. The carriage door closed behind her with a loud 'thump', made her two co-workers who were busy chatting with each other, instantly cry out her name in acknowledgment the moment it notified them of her presence.

She gave them a curt nod in response. "Hey, guys."

Moving to the seat next to the window at the left side of carriage which was opposite the two, she settled down on it. There was a jerk of movement before the carriage started trudging out towards the huge gate ahead. Estella took a last glance at the manor behind before looking away from the window. Sighing wearily as she slumped back on the seat, she then glanced up when she felt the two staring. She raised an eyebrow in question at the two when she realized that they were staring at her with a similar expression on their face that looked like eagerness.

With her eyebrow still raised, her eyes flicked from side to side at them. "What is it….?"

Meirin then spoke. "You know what….? We think that the Trancy boy likes you…!"

Finny beside her nodded his head frantically in agreement at this. "Yeah!"

Her raised eyebrow shot up even higher as Estella shot them an incredulous look. "What…..? No, he does not!"

Meirin chuckled. "I think he does! Or else…Why do you think he wants to dance with you? And why did he try to…." The older female burst out into a fit of giddy giggles. When her giggles died down, she continued. "….._kiss_ you…?"

Finny nodded his head at this in agreement again.

Estella stared at them with a deadpanned look. "He _does not_ like me…! He's crazy and weird that's why he did all those!"

When the two shot her a look of disbelief, she let out an exasperated sigh. "He addresses me as 'Luca' for I don't know whatever reason! ….Trust me. He's crazy."

Silence from the two was their only response. She let out another sigh. "This ball was the most tiring ball I have ever attended. Guys, you have seen how child-like and crazy he had behaved just now. You guys should know that he's…..not very mentally stable…"

Meirin chuckled. "Alright, alright…We believe you…"

Finny grinned at her. "Anyway, he _does_ seem really crazy…."

A relieved smile cracked across her face as Estella scoffed. "Yeah, definitely."

The blond male gave out a yawn. "I feel tired….I think I need a nap…"

Eyes following him, Finny scooted across the seat to the other window and rested his head against it. He then spoke between another yawn. "N…Night, guys…."

She then flicked her eyes back to the other female when she spoke. "I think I need a nap too…This ball was really a tiring one..."

Nodding in response, Estella turned her head away and gazed out of the window. The sky was now a blanket of black-blue with twinkling stars littering across it. Flashes of looming and dark trees flew past the window as the carriage trudged on. She then let out a big yawn. She was indeed tired. That ball which they just left was too unforgettable. Well, at least for her. Needing to put up with that Trancy male's silly and crazy antics made her first ball that she had attended ever since two years _way_ too unforgettable, too eventful.

Lifting her hand up to her lips, Estella started fingering with them as she frowned in thoughts.

* * *

><p><em><strong>-Flashback-<strong>_

* * *

><p>"<em>Luca! Let me do this before you leave…."<em>

"_Do wh-"_

_Stopping in the midst of her question when his hands suddenly reached out to rest themselves each at the either sides of her cheeks, she watched with wide eyes as Alois suddenly leaned his head towards hers._

_An agony-laced whisper then emitted from the male._

_"I miss you_ so_ much….Luca…"_

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Flashback-<strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

_**-Back to Present—**_

Estella replayed the last particular part of that memory over again.

_"I miss you_ so_ much….Luca…"_

With her eyebrows moving down even more, her already present frown deepened. A nagging puzzlement came at her. The way the Trancy boy said that line was just…..weird. It was as though he was directing it to someone else. Another thing about how he said that made the nagging puzzlement stirring within her grow even stronger. She swore she had detected something while he was saying it. It was a whisper filled with so much...agony.

Staring out at the window, Estella gazed tiredly up at the sky. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she decided that she was too tired to think about this redundant matter. Leaning back onto the seat, she sat in silence, waiting to arrive at the Phantomhive Manor. Her home.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Watching as Sebastian strolled over to the door to exit his room, Ciel who was lying under the soft cover of his king-sized bed, gave out a big yawn.

His butler paused at the mouth of the door and turned full-body to him. Bowing, he spoke. "Good night, Young Master."

Ciel gave him a curt nod in return. "Aa."

Sebastian returned the gesture before disappearing behind the door as it closed with a soft 'thump'. Staring blankly up at the ceiling of his poster bed, Ciel crossed his arms behind his head, shifting to a comfortable position. His room was now enveloped in silent darkness. The only sound that could be heard was his breathing. Stare still poking blankly at the ceiling of the bed; he let out a weary sigh.

His eyebrows then moved down to a frown in puzzlement and annoyance when the thought of that earlier nagging feeling of bitterness he had experienced at the ball. That nagging feeling did not just happen once but _thrice_. Twice came the nagging bitterness was when he saw that mad boy hold his new servant with such close proximity in his arms. The third time was the worst of all when that mad boy did something inappropriate to her. A surge of both bitterness and anger was what he felt as he witnessed it happen. The surges of those feelings gave him a really strong urge to make him want to go over and tear them away from each other. He just could not figure out the reason for that urge.

Ciel massaged his temple wearily.

_Hmm…..Maybe it was because I really hate his guts….._

Sighing, he let his arm fall back onto the bed at his side.

_Aa…. That must be reason for it._

Ruffling his hair in frustration, Ciel swung himself off the bed and strolled over to his wardrobe. Pulling its doors open, he took out a pair of black knee-length shorts. Once he got himself clad in it, Ciel strolled over to the door to exit his room.

* * *

><p><strong>…..<strong>

Rivulets of sweat trailed down the sides of her face as Estella who laid sprawled, continued turning and shifting on the bed. Movements of her eyeballs could be seen even behind her closed lids as whimpers and moans continued emitting from her. The ragged sound of her breath could be heard from every movement she made. Her hands clutched onto the clump of the bed cover in her tight fists. Tormenting memories played in her dream behind her closed lids like a movie.

**...**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-Dream-<strong>_

* * *

><p>"<em>Specimen A174 is ready for test." A muffled voice emitted from behind a mask in an emotionless tone.<em>

_A heavy feeling of emptiness pressed against her as she just laid motionlessly on the cool surface of the operation table. Her eyes stared blankly at the bright lamp that was hovering over her. The glaring brightness of the lamp and the sound of rustling papers which sounded from somewhere near her right ear, seemed to be mocking her. _

_Her eyes then flicked over to the left when a voice from there spoke to her. Victor Blair who he introduced himself as the leader of this organization, SIGMA, stared down at her. A glint of amusement can be seen in his eyes. _

"_So you have finally decided to be obedient…?"_

"_What are you going to do with me….?" She croaked out, the best she can manage from her dry throat._

_The man chuckled. "You'll see, you'll see…."_

_A sudden surge of raw anger shot up within her. _

"_Let me go! You damn bastard!" She snarled. The rattling sound produced by metal chains which were clasped at each of her wrists, rang throughout the room as she struggled at her attempt to break herself from them._

_Unfazed by her sudden outburst, the man gave out a fit of amused chuckles._

"_Hmm... Looks like you haven't learned obedience yet…..My mistake….." _

_Eying at his watching subordinates, he jutted his chin towards the struggling girl, giving them a silent order. Men instantly rushed over to the struggling girl to carry out the order. _

_Dark amusement danced across his eyes as he watched the specimen got beat up with a deranged lopsided grin._

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Dream-<strong>_

* * *

><p>With sweat pouring all over her face, a bloodcurdling scream emitted from the girl as she continued thrashing about on the bed.<p>

**...**

**…..**

Closing the door behind him, Ciel took a step forward and padded along the crimson carpeted floor to make his way down the hallway to get to the kitchen which was downstairs. Rubbing his eye in attempt to adjust it to the sudden presence of light as he continued his way down the hallway, he let out a yawn.

Just when he reached somewhere outside a door, he abruptly stopped in his tracks when a muffled scream suddenly emitted from the other side of the door. Frowning, Ciel snapped his head over to stare at it in puzzlement.

_Who was that…?_

Moving closer to the door, he gave a knock on its wooden surface. However, there was no response. Resting a hand on its handle, Ciel gingerly pushed opened the door into a small gap and peeked through. Widening his eye in surprise, he saw that the source of the scream was his new servant.

_Blancbaston…?_

He sighed before pushing the door wider to enter the room. Standing at the side of the bed, he watched the girl thrashed about on her bed as shrieks and moans continued emitting from her. A wave of nostalgia hit him.

_Nightmares….._

After even he had managed to escape from the cult, haunted memories of it still remained, leaving him nights of tormenting sleep. This girl having them now was expected.

Reaching towards her shoulders, Ciel shook her in attempt to wake her from her tormenting nightmare. His attempt failed when he saw that the girl still had her eyes closed. Sighing, he sat down on the edge of the bed and shook her more vigorously.

"Blancbaston! Wake up!"

This time his attempt was proved to work when her eyes suddenly snapped opened. Ciel instantly grew rigid when the girl suddenly sat up and pulled him towards her into a hug. He could feel his own body shaking to the tremble of her body as it shook to her soft sobs . He could feel the coolness of her tears as they seeped through his button-down shirt onto his skin.

"It….It was…..so…. scary….." The girl whispered in a rasped voice as she continued sobbing against his chest.

His eye softened at this. Moving his hand to her back, he gave her a reassuring pat. "It's okay…."

"Thanks….for waking me up…." Estella mumbled against his chest. She then pushed away from him to wipe her tears.

It took him a few moments before his eye widen in realization. Realizing that his actions were too out of character for Ciel Phantomhive, he hastily stood up.

Glancing stonily down at her, he cleared his throat.

"No need to thank me. Your scream was too loud so I had to stop you before you wake the whole manor up."

Staring up at him for a brief moment, Estella shot him a glare and scoffed."Fine. Then _make sure_ that_ everyone_ in this manor thank you for doing that tomorrow."

Without a word, she dropped back down on the bed before pulling the cover up over her head.

Her muffled voice then emitted from under the cover.

"You may get out now."

His eye narrowed in response at this.

"Why you…"

He then let out a sigh of resignation.

"Che."

Shaking his head at the lump on the bed, Ciel spun towards the door and strolled towards it.

**...**

* * *

><p>The curly-haired female blonde who was watching the interaction through the left-ajar door, frowned when the new girl suddenly sat up and hugged her fiance. Ciel told her to stay at his manor for the night since it was too late for her to go home and so here she was staying overnight to wait to go home in the coming morning.<p>

Elizabeth was on her way to the bathroom which was at the end of the hallway when she suddenly heard muffled voices from this particular room. When she peeked in, she was shocked to find her fiancé in Estella's room. The hug left her even more shocked. A stab of bitterness came at her the moment she witnessed that.

Running back to her room which was a little further down the hall when she saw that Ciel was starting to leave the room, she entered her room and shut the door behind her. The feeling of bitterness continued nagging at her as she plopped down on her bed.

Elizabeth then raised her head up with a determined look on her face. She has decided that she would clarify this matter with Ciel when morning comes.

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	12. Embark

**Chapter 11**

* * *

><p>The dark sky brightened up as the celestial ball of light peeked out of its horizon. Leaves rustled to the flow of the light morning breeze, dancing in air across the land where the Phantomhive manor stood on. The water in the fountain at the front of the manor's porch reflected a glimmer of the morning sun as it continued pouring down from the fountain chute. There on the large piece of land was a quiet Phantomhive manor which stood majestically in the shine of the morning sunlight. Somewhere in the manor, a man padded silently along a hallway.<p>

Pausing, he took out his pocket watch from the inner pocket of his tailcoat before flipping it open to glance down at its face.

_7.24am…._

Snapping it back close, he slipped it back into his tailcoat. Looking up to glance down at the remaining stretch of the hallway, he frowned.

_Didn't I already tell her to meet me out here at 7.20am _sharp _yesterday…? _

Sighing softly in annoyance, he stepped forward to continue his way down the hallway and paused again when he reached a door. Raising a gloved hand, he gave a knock on its wooden surface.

He then frowned when there was no response. He then knocked again, this time, louder.

**….**

* * *

><p>The lump under the soft cover of the bed stirred to the sound of a knock emitted from the door. Groaning groggily, she shifted to face away from source of the knock, lifting the cover over her head in attempt to block out the noise. Sighing in relief when there was silence once again, she snuggled her head into the pillow before settling down in comfort to go back to sleep again. Then a louder knock came while she was in the midst of drifting off to sleep. With closed eyes, she frowned in irritation.<p>

"What….?" She drawled sleepily in annoyance, shifting again to rest on her other side.

A male voice then replied back in a firm tone. "Estella. It's past 7.20 already. Now, wake up."

Sighing exasperatedly, the said girl sat up and answered groggily. "Alright, alright….I'm up."

The male voice replied back. "Get yourself ready. I'll give you twenty minutes to prepare yourself. When I'm back, I want to see that you are already waiting outside here, understood?"

Rolling her eyes at that, Estella cleared her throat and spoke. "No problem, Sebastian. I'll definitely already be out there in no time!"

"Then see you in twenty minutes."

Sighing softly in annoyance, she spoke. "No problem!"

She was only met with silence.

Shrugging, Estella listened as the sound of footsteps grew fainter and fainter. Snorting when the hallway outside went into complete silence; she dropped back down onto the bed. Pulling the bed cover up to her chin, she turned to face away from the door, letting out a sigh.

She then scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Closing her eyes, Estella snuggled into her pillow and started to drift off to sleep again.

**….**

* * *

><p>Narrowing his eyes was his instant reaction the moment they landed on a certain portion of the hallway ahead. Reaching into the inner pocket of his tailcoat, Sebastian slipped his pocket watch before expertly flicking it open. Glancing down at the face of it, he frowned at the answer of his unspoken question.<p>

_Wasted too much time. _

Snapping the watch close, Sebastian slipped it back into his tailcoat. Sighing in annoyance, he glanced up at the remaining stretch of hallway ahead before quickening his pace to get to the room which was further down. Slowing down when he was nearing a door, he paused outside and knocked against its wooden surface.

Silence was the only thing he had from the other side of the door in response. Frowning, Sebastian gave it another knock. Silence was once again what he had as a response. A surge of annoyance came at him.

_Don't tell me…_

Reaching to its handle, he yanked it down and pushed the door opened. What the door opened to reveal verified his suspicion.

**….**

* * *

><p>"Sebastian, why the need to wake up this early…?"<p>

The said butler glanced down at his subordinate. "Needing to wake up early should be something that you should expect, you will get used to it."

Estella stared up at him for a moment before letting out a sigh of resignation. "Right….Then where are we going now?"

"I need to get you assigned to your chores."

Nodding knowingly to herself at this, Estella looked up at Sebastian again when he spoke.

"Let's hurry. We have wasted enough time already."

At this, the duo quickened their pace to their destination.

**….**

* * *

><p>Stepping into the kitchen when its doors swung opened, her eyes instantly flicked to over to her humming female co-worker. There in front of a cupboard was a humming Meirin sliding out plates from the furniture one by one to polish, frowned in concentration while at it, obviously unaware of their presence.<p>

A small smile breaking across her face at this, Estella rose up a hand in greeting.

Eyes widening slightly at this, Sebastian was about to open his mouth to stop her from what he thought she was going to do. But before he could even speak, she called out.

"Good morning, Meirin!"

Startled by that sudden outcry, Meirin released the unfortunate plate in her hands as her instant reaction, shattering the moment it hit the floor.

Grinning to herself sheepishly, Estella shot her co-worker who was now gaping down at the shattered mess at her feet in horror, an apologetic look.

"Oops….?"

The butler beside her sighed heavily at what happened.

"Meirin."

The said maid instantly shot upright at this before turning to Sebastian with a nervous smile. "Y-Yes?"

"Just clean that up later. Now, come here. I need to speak to you."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Gingerly taking a step forward, Meirin obligingly strolled over to them. Stopping when she has done so, Estella spoke. "Sorry, Meirin. I shouldn't have startled you."

Meirin glanced over at her with a smile. "It's okay. Oh and… Good morning to you too!"

Shooting back a smile, Estella turned to Sebastian when he spoke.

"Estella. You will share this chore of polishing the plates in that cupboard with Meirin. This will be what you shall always do as your first chore of the day before moving on to your other chores. I'll leave it to you two to settle on how this chore is going to be split among yourselves. "

He then turned to Meirin. "I trust you to guide her through this."

Meirin saluted to him in agreement. "Of course!"

Nodding at this, Sebastian spoke. "Alright…Meirin. We're done here. Get that mess cleaned." He jutted his chin towards the scattered pieces of porcelain which lay across the floor near the cupboard.

"Of course." Meirin nodded before turning to Estella with a smile. "Later."

Nodding in return, Estella watched the female walked back to the cupboard before turning to Sebastian. "So now…Where are we heading to…?"

"You will see when we reach there."

With that, Sebastian spun on his heels and stalked towards the doors.

Eyeing him with narrowed eyes, Estella shrugged indifferently to herself before moving to follow.

**….**

* * *

><p>"You've got to be kidding!"<p>

Estella exclaimed, shooting a look of bewilderment up at the butler. Snapping her head to face the reason for her outcry, she stood at the mouth of the doors, eyeing the rows of tall shelves in the room with the same bewildered look. She then turned back to Sebastian when he spoke.

"I'm afraid to tell you that I do not joke." Sebastian stared stonily down at her.

The bewildered look was then replaced by one with a hopeful smile.

"Meirin is sharing this chore with me too, right…?" She asked hopefully.

"No. This chore is for you alone."

The smile on her face drooped down at this into a gape as Estella stared up at him with a dumbfounded look. "Alone….? Dust _all _the books in this library _alone_…?"

When Sebastian nodded in confirmation, she let out a groan. "What the hell…? Seriously…?"

"Yes. And mind your language." He spoke firmly in reply.

Estella then threw him an incredulous look. "Right…..Do I _really_ have to dust _all _the books…?"

"Yes. And the shelves too."

"Shelves too…? Do I have to this _everyday_…?" She stared pointedly at the shelves.

"No. Fortunately for you, just thrice a week."

Estella groaned. "_Thrice_…?

"Yes." Sebastian said firmly.

Snapping her head over to throw a frown at the rows of shelves, Estella sighed in resignation. "Alright…. So, is there anything else I need to do…?"

Sebastian tapped an index finger against his chin in a rhythmic manner at her question before looking down at her again. "Yes. You have to dust the books in the Young Master's study too."

"_WHAT?..._ More books?" She stared up at the butler in disbelief.

"I afraid so."

Eyebrows moving down to form a glare, Estella glared at him in annoyance. "It will be _your_ fault if I start having nightmares about books!"

Ignoring the glare, the butler then took out his pocket watch before flicking it open to glance at its face. Shutting it close and slipping it back to his tailcoat, he glanced over to the fuming girl

"I shall entrust you with those duties, do them well."

Folding her arms across her chest, Estella snorted at this before speaking to reply. "Yeah, yeah…"

Sebastian nodded to himself at this and spoke.

"That's all for you. Just all these. Now that we are done, I want you to prepare yourself for our training later. We will start the training in one hour. Now, go and have your breakfast. Take an extremely light one."

When Estella responded with a curt nod, he continued.

"I'll meet you at the entrance hall in one hour."

With that, Sebastian spun away from her and strolled down the hallway to get to his next task.

**….**

* * *

><p>"Ciel! ~"<p>

The said boy looked up from his work at this to see Elizabeth skipping into his study. The instant she stopped in front of his desk, she chirped out a greeting. "Good morning~"

Ciel nodded back in response. "You too."

Elizabeth pouted at his curt answer before moving across the room to get the chair which sat at a corner of the study. Coming back with the chair, she set it down at the opposite Ciel and settled down on it.

Ciel raised an eyebrow in response at this.

"What are you doing..?"

Elizabeth shot him a smile. "Just want to spend some time with you."

His already raised eyebrow shot even higher at this. He then spoke, tapping his pen onto the piece of paper on the desk in front of him. "I'm busy…"

His fiance pouted. "Come on, Ciel! Just a little while~"

Staring at her for a moment, Ciel sighed in resignation before releasing the pen in his hand. Leaning back on his chair, he propped an elbow onto its, resting his head on it. "Fine…Just a while."

"Great!" Elizabeth chirped. Leaning forward to rest her arms on the desk, she questioned. "So…did you sleep well?"

"Aa." Ciel nodded.

Eyebrows moving down to a small frown, Elizabeth gingerly nodded at his response.

_I have to ask him…_

Ciel rose an eyebrow when he noticed how his fiancé kept flicking her eyes up at him before flicking them down to the pen which she is fiddling with, in a repetitive manner.

"Elizabeth."

Startled, the said girl instantly flicked her now-widened eyes up at him. "Yes…?"

Ciel leaned forward to rest his arms on the furniture in front. "What do you need to tell me…?"

Elizabeth stared at her fiancé for a moment before speaking. "Nothing much. It's just that I want to ask you some questions…"

"What is it…?"

Still fiddling with the pen, Elizabeth nibbled on her bottom lip in thought before turning her attention back to her waiting fiancé. "Erm…Yesterday night…I was on my way to the bathroom and so when I went passed Estella's room, I saw you in there. So I was wondering… Is everything okay…?"

With both eyebrows rose up, his eye widened in surprise at this. Leaning back onto his chair, Ciel replied nonchalantly. "Everything is fine. It's just that I had to wake that girl up before her scream wakes the whole manor up."

Elizabeth tilted her head at him in puzzlement. "Scream..? Why is she screaming?"

"Nightmares."

Eyes widening at this, Elizabeth could not help but feel relieved. She then frowned worriedly at the new-found knowledge about how the servant, who she has newly acquainted with and she had grown to like, had suffered a bad night.

Glancing up at her fiancé with the worried frown, she questioned. "Oh dear…Poor Estella. Is she alright...?"

"Aa."

Glancing at the grandfather clock at the side, Elizabeth noted the time on its face before turning to Ciel with a smile. "I think I better get going! Paula should be reaching soon!"

Getting up before skipping over to her fiancé, she pulled Ciel into her usual bone-crushing hug.

Wincing at how tight was Elizabeth hugging him; Ciel patted her back in response. "S-See you, Elizabeth."

Releasing him from the hug, Elizabeth glanced down at her seated fiancé and pouted. "It's Lizzy! Didn't I already ask you to call me 'Lizzy'…?"

Sighing, Ciel spoke. "Alright. See you…Lizzy."

"That's better! Then I'll be off then!... Bye Ciel! ~" With that, Elizabeth skipped off out of the study and disappeared into the hallway.

Watching after her, Ciel sighed heavily before picking up his pen to resume his work.

**….**

* * *

><p>Glancing around at the room, Estella studied the details in it. There was her and Sebastian standing in a big room that looked about eight times bigger than her room. Whistling lowly to herself in awe, her eyes continued sweeping through the rows of weapons which were hung up on the surrounding walls of the room. Sunlight shone into the room through a row of ceiling-to-floor windows at the wall behind her, bathed the room in brightness.<p>

With her bare feet padding across the thinly-carpeted gray floor to get to Sebastian who was waiting in the middle of the room, Estella flicked her eyes back to the butler ahead. When she got closer, she spoke. "Whoa….Never knew that this manor would have this kind of room. Pretty cool, huh…"

Nodding her head to herself as her eyes flicked across the room to take in all its details once again, Estella turned her attention back to Sebastian when he spoke.

"Alright. This room will be used for our training. We shall have our trainings every alternate day at 10. So make sure to meet me here every alternate day at this time, I expect punctuality from you, understood?"

"Roger." Estella nodded in agreement.

At that, Sebastian retreated a few steps away from the girl before speaking again. "Now, a test like I said. So Estella…. Come, come at me with the intent to kill. Show me what you have."

Eyes widening in surprise at this before reverting to eyes with a gleam of determination which can be seen in them, a smirk crept across Estella's face. Tightening the knotted belt of her Japanese V-neck martial arts uniform, she positioned herself into a fighting stance.

She then bends forward to ready herself to sprint towards the waiting butler.

With the smirk on her face widened, she spoke.

"With pleasure."

**...**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	13. Hell at Phantomhive's

**Chapter 12**

* * *

><p>With a war cry, Estella charged forward the waiting butler. Skidding to a halt in front of him, a fist instantly shot out, aiming at his face. Eyes widening slightly when Sebastian just lazily dodged her incoming fist, her eyebrows furrowed to a frown. Spinning on her heels, she swung her right leg towards him to give him a round kick. But only to miss when Sebastian crouched down.<p>

"Too slow."

Sebastian commented with a smirk plastered on his face.

Frown deepening at this, she threw punches at him. The result was still the same with Sebastian dodging every punch lazily.

_Why can't I just land a hit on him? Damn it._

Gritting her teeth in frustration, she continued throwing punches at the butler. While Sebastian was busy dodging her punches, her eyes narrowed at his sides.

_He's open._

Swinging a leg up at an unguarded side of the butler, she gave a round kick towards it.

Sebastian, who was busy dodging her incoming punches, has his eyes widened slightly in surprise, caught off guard to see her leg swinging towards his side. Widened eyes reverted into eyes with a gleam of approval at this; he swiftly caught hold of her just in time, stopping its swing towards him with one hand before it could hit him.

Smirking in amusement with a raised eyebrow, Sebastian watched her struggle to get her leg out of his grip. Glaring up at the smirking butler with gritted teeth, Estella tugged at her leg, trying to free it from his tight grip.

"Let go of my leg, Sebastian." She growled, tugging at her leg.

"Alright."  
>Did not expect Sebastian instantly let go of her leg, Estella let out a surprised shriek and the next thing she felt was her back hitting the floor. Staring blankly at the white ceiling of the room, she blinked slowly at it before her eyes widened slightly at it. Sitting up from her sprawled position, Estella glared at the butler in front of her.<p>

"Why the hell did you just let go like that?" She snarled in annoyance, rubbing at her back.

Sebastian shot her a serene smile. "But wasn't you the one who ask me to 'let go'…. ?"

While pushing herself up to stand, Estella drawled in annoyance. "Well, at least, give me a warning before you do that….."

Sighing heavily, she asked nonchalantly. "Continue…?"

"No. No need for that. I've seen enough." Sebastian said, straightening his suit.

Estella stared at the butler with a look of boredom. "Oh. Then, what now…?"

Sebastian, who was done straightening his suit, looked up with a serious look. "Your stamina was not good enough, you're also too slow."

Staring at the butler for a moment, Estella scoffed. "Then what are we going to do about that…?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her. "I want you to run outside, around the manor. Stop when I call you to come back in."

"What?" Estella shot him an incredulous look.

"You've heard me. Now, go."

"Bu-"

"Go." Sebastian said firmly, interrupting her.

Shooting him a glare, Estella huffed. "Fine."

Spinning away from the butler, she marched off towards the doors with the glare still plastered on her face.

_Stupid bastard…._

**…...**

* * *

><p>Ciel frowned irritably at the piece of paperwork in his hands, trying to block out the noise from the other side of his study room's window. Eye scanning through the content on the paperwork, Ciel sighed in relief when the unnecessary noise from outside grew fainter and fainter.<p>

_Looks like the training has started…_

Shrugging, Ciel glanced back down to focus on the paperwork. Clutching the pen in his hand, he signed at the bottom of the paper before moving onto another piece. In the midst of reading its content, the noise came again. Sighing in annoyance, he dropped his pen before pushing himself away from his desk to stand up.

_What the hell is that…?_

Strolling over to the window, Ciel pushed it opened with a heavy sigh. With arms folded across his chest, Ciel glanced around at the area below, trying to locate the culprit of that noise.

"_**That stupid butler! How long does he want me to run….!"**_

Ciel snapped his head over to the source of the voice only to have his eyes widening in surprise when they landed on his red-headed new servant, Estella Blancbaston. Jogging pass and at the same time, screaming strings of profanities on top of her voice.

"_**Bastard butler! Damn it! I'm tired!" **_

Raising an eyebrow upon hearing that, Ciel quickly figured that the one who she was cursing at was none other than his butler, Sebastian Michealis. Eying the girl below, he watched her staggered into a stop right below his window. A stab of amusement came at him to see his new pawn get pushed around by his other pawn. Smirking in amusement, Ciel called out to the panting girl below.

**…...**

* * *

><p>"Blancbaston! Slacking on your training, aren't you….?" A familiar amuse-laced voice emitted from overhead.<p>

Eyes widening in surprise at this, Estella glanced about wildly, trying to find the source of it. Still panting, she frowned in thoughts.

_It came from above, didn't it…?_

Glancing up, her eyes widened in surprise when they spotted to see her master sitting with arms folded across his chest on the hedge of a wide opened window, glancing down at her with a smirk. Eyes narrowing at the male above, Estella frowned in annoyance at him.

Rolling her eyes at him, she scoffed. "Who's slacking…?"

Ciel raised an eyebrow upon hearing her comment. "You, obviously…."

The girl below shot back a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you doing that as well…?"

Ciel snorted at this. "I'm not. I wouldn't be wasting my time like that…But because there was _someone _who just had to run around yelling like an idiot, I couldn't focus. "He said, jutting his chin towards her.

Estella narrowed her eyes at him and snarled. "Who are you calling an idiot…!"

Ciel shrugged indifferently. "I'm sure you figure out that by yourself."

Sighing heavily, Estella drawled in annoyance. "Honestly…Phantomhi-"

Ciel interrupted curtly. "It's _Master_, not by that."

Eying the male above with an indifferent look, she sighed again. "Right. _Master._ I would be really grateful to you if you order your _dear_ butler to stop making me run."

Ciel scoffed at this. "You are-"

A knock on his study's door interrupted him in the midst of his comment. Grunting as permission for the person to enter, the doors swung opened to reveal his butler. Eye widening in surprise, it reverted to one with a gleam of amusement at the arrival of his butler.

Turning back to the girl below, he spoke with a smirk. "Speak of the devil, here he is."

Smirk widening when the girl grew rigid at his comment, Ciel turned back to his waiting butler and gestured at the girl below. "Sebastian…She's slacking."

"Oh…?" Sebastian strolled over to the window and glanced out to see the girl grinning sheepishly at him. Narrowing his eyes at her, Sebastian spoke. "Slacking, aren't we…?"

Sheepish grin on her face widened, Estella stammered. "He-Hey Sebastian, just a little tiny bit of rest. I'm not slacking….."

Flicking her eyes to Ciel, her eyes narrowed at him when she saw that he was smirking at the situation.

_Stupid midget. He's enjoying this…._

Flicking her attention back to the butler, she eyed at him nervously.

"You know, I was thinking of asking you to come back in but since you're slacking, let's extend this by fifteen more minutes. Now, run."

Ciel shot the girl below a mocking smile when she gaped in horror at his butler.

Estella shot the butler an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me…?."

Sebastian stated. "Twenty minutes more then.

She objected defensively. "But it was just a little rest…."

"Twenty five."

Eyes widening at this, Estella let out a sigh of resignation. "Fine, fine! Make it fifteen!"

Without a word, she started off again. Watching as the girl sprint off and disappeared into a corner, Ciel turned away from the window and strolled back to sit on his chair.

"What is it, Sebastian….?" Ciel asked as he watches Sebastian strolled to stand at the other side of his desk.

"A letter from the Queen." Sebastian placed an expensive-looking envelope in front of the other male.

Ciel eyed the envelope before picking it up to tear open its flap with a knife. Slipping the parchment inside from the envelope, he glanced down at its content.

_To: Earl Ciel Phantomhive_

_Dear Earl Phantomhive,_

_Your next assignment will be to attend the Van Rayden's ball. The Van Rayden family is suspected to be a link to SIGMA. Head over to investigate this matter._

_The invitation card has been given to you for more details on the ball._

_Destroy this letter immediately after reading._

Ciel frowned at its content before glancing over to the envelope to see that the said document in it. Pulling it out, he fingered the piece of expensive parchment before flipping it over to the other side to reading its content.

_You are invited to a ball to witness the birthday of Alice Van Rayden, daughter of Lord Van Rayden and Lady Van Rayden. _

_The ball will start at 7pm sharp on 11__th__ April 1888_

_Hope to see you there._

_Head Butler of the Van Rayden Household,_

_Christopher Ellwood_

Scowling at the invitation, Ciel gave out a heavy sigh of annoyance.

"What is it, Young Master…?" Sebastian questioned upon hearing his master sigh.

"We have another ball to attend…." Ciel drawled heavily.

"Oh…?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow at this. Taking out his pocket watch, he then glanced down at it before looking up with a smile. "Young Master, looks like we have to increase the number of dance lessons …"

Ciel let out a groan at that.

**…...**

* * *

><p>"That stupid Sebastian! He expects me to start on the chores straight away after that crazy run…?" Estella grumbled to no one in particular. Glancing down at the bucket of water which was carried in her left hand before glancing over to the duster in the other, she trudged towards the huge doors of the library. With a sigh, she pushed them opened to reveal rows of shelves.<p>

Gaping in horror and dread at the shelves ahead, she continued her way in and stopped before a shelf. Eyes scanning through the books, Estella placed down the bucket of water onto the brown carpeted floor, at her feet.

_This sucks._

Sighing heavily, Estella started slipping books out of its shelf one by one and hugged them to her chest before strolling away from the shelf to a corner.

**…..**

* * *

><p>Ciel strolled into the library only to be straight away greeted by the sight of a towering stack of books, moving towards him.<p>

_There she is._

Raising an eyebrow at the stack of books, Ciel called out to the girl behind it. "Blancbaston."

No response came, the stack of books only continued advancing towards him.

Frowning at this, Ciel sighed before calling out to her, this time, louder. "Blancbaston!"

Estella who was in full concentration, trying balance the books in her arms, jumped at that sudden calling of her name. Startled, her right foot accidentally tripped over her other and soon she found herself falling forward. The next thing she found herself sprawled onto the carpeted floor. Groaning when her eyes flicked up slightly to see the books scattered across the floor in front of her, she glanced up to the culprit with a glare.

"What!" She snarled at Ciel.

Looking down at Estella, Ciel stared at her for a moment before letting a heavy sigh. He drawled with an indifferent look "You're an idiot, aren't you…? Anyway, let's get straight to the point why I'm here. ….Once you're done, come over to my study, understood…? Now, continue with your chore."

Without a word, the male strolled off and exited the room. Glaring at the mouth of the wide opened door where he stood just now, Estella let out a sigh.

_Okay, this seriously sucks._

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	14. A Mission

**Chapter 13**

* * *

><p>A weary sigh came after the sound of a heavy dull thud as Estella eyed tiredly at the bucket of chalky gray water which she have just put down.<p>

Eyes flicking over to the shelves, she surveyed the result of the interminable chore of dusting and wiping the damn furniture and its books. A feeling of relief and accomplishment washed over her when she checked that she has really finished this back-breaking chore.

Estella then yawned, stretching her arms above her head tiredly. She then cursed at the dull feeling of fatigue which lingered in her muscles. "I can't believe I have to do this thrice a week! Argh…!" She groaned in frustration.

Glaring in annoyance at the rows of shelves, her eyes suddenly widened in remembrance.

_Oh yeah, why does Phantomhive want_ _me to meet him in his study…? _ She sighed at that thought. _That demanding little boy…!_

Shaking her head in bewilderment, Estella snatched up the bucket at her foot and stalked towards the wide opened doors of the library.

**…..**

* * *

><p>The door swung opened the moment Ciel uttered a 'Come in' as a reply to the sound of knocking which emitted from its other side. Without needing to glance up from his paperwork to identify the visitor, he asked nonchalantly. "What is it, Sebastian…?"<p>

"It's time for your dance lesson, Young Master." Sebastian bowed with a hand on his chest.

The reply Sebastian gave Ciel had Ciel snapping his head up to look at him with an incredulous look. "Dance lesson?"

An annoyed frown then marred his face. "Che."

With an annoyed sigh, Ciel pushed himself up to stand before moving over to his butler. The annoyed frown still on his face, Ciel snapped. "This better be quick, Sebastian."

"How quick this lesson is going to go depends on you, Young Master." Sebastian said with a serene smile. He then stretched a hand out to his master and prompted. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Ciel stared at the hand with an annoyed frown and snorted before reaching out to accept it.

**...**

* * *

><p>Estella sighed, making her way down the hallway with the bucket of water she used for her earlier tiring chore. Trudging down the stretch of hallway, she finally came to a stop in front of a huge door. Giving a knock, she pushed opened the doors without bothering to wait for permission to do so; she froze with widened eyes the moment the doors swung opened to reveal something she did not expect to see behind the doors.<p>

There was the Phantomhive boy standing in a close proximity with his butler. Flicking her eyes down to the hand Ciel had on Sebastian's waist and his other hand held in Sebastian's gloved hand in mid-air, she quickly figured that they were dancing. Blinking dumbly at the scene before her, the duo that have too froze in the middle of their dance, stared back. An unnerving silence hung between them.

_Okaayyy… didn't know they were like this… _Still staring at the duo, she blushed at her thoughts.

Clearing her throat, Estella shot them an apologetic look. "Sorry for disturbing…er…your dance, please do continue."

Eyes darting from Ciel to Sebastian, she took a step back and quickly pulled the doors back towards her, shutting it.

**...**

* * *

><p>Watching the doors swung shut again, Ciel raised an eyebrow at whatever that had just happen. Eyes widening when realization dawned upon him, he gasped inwardly at what he figured out.<p>

_Don't tell me she thinks that Sebastian and me are…._

Grimacing in disgust at his thoughts, Ciel quickly freed himself from the amused butler before stalking up to pull open the doors to see the Blancbaston girl snapping her head up in surprise.

"So…" The girl started hesitantly.

Eyebrows moving down to a glare, Ciel snapped in annoyance. "I don't care what you thought that was just now, just know that was just my dance lesson, got it?"

Fuming, Ciel watched a sheepish smile grew across her face. "Oh ho…I thought you two were…you know…"

"It's not, okay?" He growled irritably.

"Yeah, yeah…" Estella rolled her eyes at the annoyed male. The two adolescences then turned to the silent butler when Sebastian spoke. "Let's continue the dance lesson but I think this time, it's better and easier for Young Master to dance with someone shorter so now, Estella shall take my place."

This had the two staring wide eyes at each other in bewilderment and disbelief.

"WHAT?" They yelled in unison at the amused butler.

**…..**

* * *

><p>"You suck at dancing." Ciel stated bluntly as he stared at the shorter female in his arms emotionlessly. He could still feel the dull pain in his both foot. His stupid butler must be crazy to ask the Blancbaston girl to dance with him, it have already been the fourth time his poor foot had been stepped on.<p>

The girl snapped her head up at him and glared at him irritably."You think I want to do this? You know what, you suck too…!" She growled.

Sebastian, who was watching quietly at the side, chuckled at this. Their interaction was just too…interesting. It was amusing to see his master grimace in pain whenever his feet were stepped on and simply fascinating to watch how much Estella could annoy his master. An amused smirk crept across his face as he continued watching the two in silence.

Unfazed by her outburst, Ciel raised an eyebrow at Estella and drawled mockingly. "Che. It's a wonder how you managed to dance with this kind of skill at Trancy's party…. "

"You consider _that_ as a _dance_…? Throughout, all Trancy did was press me against him. _That_ definitely does not seem like a dance to me." Estella shot him a deadpanned look. The deadpanned look reverted into a puzzled look when no respond came, she then raised an eyebrow when she felt his body grow rigid.

Frowning, Ciel could not figure out the reason for the unsettling feeling what Estella said him brought him and he certainly did not like them.

_This is stup-_

A sudden pain in his left foot interrupted him in the midst of his thoughts. Grimacing in pain, he shot Estella an annoyed glare. "This is the_ fifth_ time, Blancbaston!" He snarled.

Shooting back an indifferent look, she shrugged. "Well, at least, you're back. What are you thinking of? "

"None of your business." Ciel replied curtly.

"Whatever." Estella rolled her eyes in response. She then glanced down at her waist to see his hand which supposedly should be circled around her waist, hovering over it. Glancing back up at Ciel to see him watching her, he spoke before she could say anything.

"Don't comment. Look at how you put your hand on my shoulder first before you say anything, Blancbaston." Ciel said, gesturing at her hand which was hovering over his shoulder with a jut of his chin.

"Hn. Look, Phantomhi-"

"It's _Master _to you. " Ciel cut her off swiftly and shot her an annoyed glare. "How many times do-"

A sudden pressure on his left foot interrupted him. Estella have did it again.

"That's it! This lesson's over!" He detached himself from the girl abruptly, only to have the unsuspecting girl to shriek in surprise as her loss of balance cause her to fall onto the carpeted floor, landing hard on her bottom.

"Damn you, Phantomhive!" Estella shot him a heated glare as she scrambled up to stand.

"It's _Master_." Ciel snapped in annoyance. Without another glance, he spun towards his butler and spoke.

"Enough with the lesson, it's time to brief her on the mission, we've wasted enough time, Sebastian." Ciel sighed, stalking towards his desk and quickly settled down on his chair.

"Then I shall go get some tea." Sebastian bowed before he moved towards and disappeared behind the doors.

"Mission? What mission?" Estella tilted her head at Ciel in puzzlement, instantly forgetting that she was mad at him.

"Sit down first." Ciel jutted his chin towards the chair opposite him. With a sigh, Estella obligingly walked over to the seat and plopped down on it. "So what is this mission that you were talking about, hmm…?"

**…..**

* * *

><p>"So all we need to do is attend this ball…? That's all for the mission? Then why do I need to participate in this mission?" Estella asked with a raised eyebrow.<p>

Ciel took a sip of tea from his cup before setting it back down. He glanced up at her with an all-business look. "Because this mission involves SIGMA and I need you to help me gather information on them for me."

Her eyes widened in shock upon hearing him mention that hateful organization. "S-SIGMA? Are you insane? That's too dangerous! Why does it have to be _me_ that gathers information, why not _you_?"

Ruffling his hair in frustration, Ciel explained. "You're not the only one doing so. I am too, but it will be difficult for me."

"And why is that so?" Estella narrowed at her eyes at his answer.

The male opposite her then curtly replied. "You will know when we are there."

Scoffing at his words, she leaned forward to rest her arms on his desk. "Tell me why I should do that." She questioned challengingly.

Taking a long sip from his cup, Ciel turned to Sebastian and gestured at his cup for a refill before turning to her to meet the challenging look on her face with a look of indifference. "Didn't you say that you want to take revenge on them? What you are going to do is going to benefit us both. Me as the Queen's watchdog like I have told you earlier and you who want to take revenge on them. It will be like a stepping stone to get to your goal. Secondly, because I'm your master so you should serve me in any way I want."

Smirking inwardly, Ciel knew he had partly won when he saw that Estella was deep in thoughts. Leaning back on his chair, Ciel eyed thoughtlessly at her.

When a heavy sigh of resignation escaped from her lips, he knew he had won.

"Fine, I'll do it. But I will need to disguise myself for it; I don't want anyone to recognize me." Estella said, straightening up into an upright position.

"Don't worry, I have already thought of everything for this mission." Ciel leaned forward to rest both of his arms on his desk.

He then continued, this time, with a knowing smirk on his face.

"On that night…..You, Estella Blancbaston, will become Adrian Blackwell, a _male _cousin of mine."

**.…**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	15. Galloping towards Darkness

**Chapter 14**

* * *

><p>Silence hung between them as Ciel watched his servant blinked dumbly at him. He could not help but felt amused at her reaction to his declaration, it was kind of cute.<p>

He paused with eyes slightly widened.

_Wait, did I just….. Cute?_

What's _wrong _with him?

Shaking off his absurd thoughts with a feeling of disgust, he reached out to his tea cup. Taking a long sip, the silent girl finally spoke.

"As a _male_?" She asked in bewilderment.

Letting out a grunt, Ciel took another sip from his cup. Expecting an immediate rejection from her, he nearly spitted out his tea when Estella answered not only in tone of approval but also with amazement. "Wow…That's actually a pretty good idea coming from you." She eyed him thoughtfully.

Sebastian at the side chuckled to himself in amusement at her comment as he eyed Estella with a glint of approval in his red eyes. Standing unmoving, he continued to watch their interaction keenly like an eagle.

Gulping the tea in his mouth that Ciel almost send spitting at the girl opposite which he wish he did, he threw the girl an insulted look. "What do you mean by _coming from me_, Blancbaston?" Ciel snapped in annoyance.

"Nothing." She shrugged before leaning forward to lean her arms on his desk. As if she didn't notice the annoyed glare on Ciel's face, Estella asked with nonchalance. "So…As a male, huh? Okaayyy…. So, anything else for the mission…?"

Letting out a sigh in response, his furrowed eyebrows relaxed, having his frown to fall away. Taking in a deep breath, he got back into an all-business attitude. "Right."

Not waiting for a response, Ciel turned his head towards his silent butler. "Sebastian, have you gathered the names?"

Estella threw a puzzled look at the boy at this.

"Yes, of course. Just like you ordered, Young Master." Sebastian immediately slid out a rolled parchment out of his suit and handed it over to Ciel with both gloved hands. Rolling it open the instant it reaches his hands, Ciel gave the list of names a quick glance before flicking up again and fixed his eye on the first name of what he observed, a list which contained five names.

"Young Master."

Ciel snapped his head up over to Sebastian. "What?"

"I'll head off now to prepare lunch."

"Then get going." He said, waving his hand towards the door, turning his attention back to the parchment.

With a curt nod at his master, Sebastian strode across the room and disappeared behind the door, exiting the room.

Giving the list of names another scan, he cleared his throat.

"Alright, I need you to tell me the descriptions of the few people as I list them out to you, some of these people might some that you know. "Ciel glanced at the girl from behind the parchment before turning back to the list. "Okay, here goes."

"Roger Eddington." He read out.

A moment of silence was the only Ciel had in return. Frowning when no answer came, he lowered the parchment down to see Estella blinking dumbly at him. Ciel sighed. "Do you know-"

He abruptly paused when the girl suddenly shot upright from her slouched sitting posture, her eyes slowly widening at something which he secretly hoped was from a remembrance.

"_Roger Eddington…_?_"_ He watched the girl with concealed anticipation as she continued mumbling that name to herself. He was about to pick up his cup for a sip when Estella gasped. "Oh, Roger Eddington!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "So you know this person..?"

"Well…" Estella hesitated. "Not really. The only person I know that bears this name was from SIGMA so the person I'm talking about might not be same as the one in that list." She jutted her chin at the parchment in his hands.

"No, it is." Ciel placed his cup back down on its saucer after a sip before glancing up with a look of indifference. "That 'Roger Eddington'_ is _SIGMA'S Roger Eddington."

"Huh…?" She questioned dubiously with an incredulous look. "What- _Why_ would you say that?"

"Because all these people I'm going read out are from…" Ciel paused to shoot her a knowing look. "…SIGMA."

When the girl didn't respond, he spoke again. "From what the Queen has informed me, this Van Rayden family has been associated with them ever since the formation of that organization." He placed his elbows against his desk, resting his chin on his intertwined hands. "So I suspected that SIGMA might be there too. And like I suspected, it looks like they are." He concluded. An eyebrow rose up when there was still no response from the girl.

**…..**

* * *

><p>Her heart nearly stopped at the news. Mix emotions stirred with her upon hearing it; fear, dread, anger and disbelief was all in the mix.<p>

Estella shot upright with widened eyes. "I-It is really t-true..? They are still _a_-_alive_…?" She asked shakily.

Noticing how her hands were trembling, his eyebrows furrowed the instant he caught that. With his eyebrows furrowing even deeper, His eyes narrowed when he also noticed how her eyes were pleading with him. Fear and some other emotions was what he could see in those sea of ice blue and he really dislike them. Anger bubbled in the pit of his stomach. Feelings of disgust, annoyance and anger just seem to grow stronger and stronger the longer his eye stayed on those eyes.

_Weakness. _

He had enough, it sickens him.

A slam on the desk had Estella snapping her head up in shock to see him standing with a furious look on his face. "Phantom-"

"_Pathetic." _Ciel spat. "You said that you wanted to take revenge on them but why are you _cowering_ when you realize that they are still here!" He shook his head in disgust at her. "Take this chance to strike at them! Make them pay for what the things they took away from you!"

His voice then lowered down to a brief silence.

His visible eye flashed darkly at her. "I do not take pathetic cowards as my bodyguard." He hissed, the heavy coldness in his voice was impossible to miss.

Not responding to that, Estella continued to gape at the fuming male, still stunned by his outburst. It took her a moment before her eyes widened. "Yeah….You're right, that was pathetic of me." She muttered breathlessly as her face fell into a withering one. "Sorry…." She tore her eyes away from the male, utterly ashamed of herself.

A heavy sigh breathed out from his nose as he settled back down on his chair. The clanking sound when he picked up his cup was the only sound before the room fall into a complete silence.

"Phantomhive." An utter broke through the heavy blanket of silence.

Ciel glanced from behind his cup at the girl to find her staring back at him with a glazed look. "I'm neither pathetic nor a coward." She blurt out bluntly. "I-I…..Pardon me for that moment of stupidity."

With his cup hovering in midair, he merely raised an eyebrow at her. His eye followed as the slightly chapped, pinkish lips of hers slid across her face into a smirk before flicking back up to her face.

Fierce determination shone in her eyes as she spoke with the newly formed smirk. "Let's do this." Estella confided. Leaning forward eagerly, she snatched up the parchment he left lying on his desk, causing Ciel to shoot forward at that. "What are you do-"

Estella swiftly cut him off in mid-sentence, looking him straight in the eye with a deadpanned look. "Do you want me to describe them or not?"

"Tch." Ciel let out a sigh and leaned forward to rest his arms on his desk. "Do it then." He said, jutting his chin at the parchment in her hands.

And so, the male adolescence sat with a fixed expression plastered on his face as he listened as the female one started to drone on, getting on with her appointed task.

**...**

* * *

><p>Training with Sebastian and dancing lessons with Ciel were all she has been doing for the mission. Thankfully for Estella, as a preparation for the mission, Sebastian decided to head into training her in martial arts instead of those crazy run. However, taking on training, dancing <em>and<em> her chores for the past few days, she was completely burned out.

Ever since that day the Phantomhive male discussed with her about the mission, all she has been doing was training, dancing and her boring chores. And today was the fourth day of this interminable routine.

Somewhere on the carpeted floor of the library in the Phantomhive manor, Estella sat sprawled against a pillar with a weary look on her face as she added another newly dusted book to the small pile of books on her right before moving on to the next one. It was a torturous bore. As she continued wiping the book cover at a snail pace, her eyelids drooped lower and lower as time passed. The hand moving the cloth repeatedly across the book cover then gradually slowed down into a stop. As that hand slid down limply to her side, her eyelids slowly dropped shut, allowing sleep to take her to a world of darkness. There she was, slouched against the pillar like the dead.

**...**

* * *

><p>Rays of the sun shone through the windows of the Phantomhive manor, bathing its hallways in blazing orange as the celestial ball slowly exit from the evening sky into its horizon. The young master of the Phantomhive household stalked through hallways, glancing around with a frustrated frown on his face.<p>

Kitchen…._not there_. Her room…._empty_. Training room..._empty_. She's not in any of these rooms.

_Where is she?_

Continuing his way down the hallway, an annoyed sigh emitted from his lips as they met with each other to form a frown line. With fists balled out loosely at his sides, Ciel turned to a corner and finally skidded to a stop in front of a huge door. Giving it a push, he stepped into the library to be met with the familiar sight of shelves and books.

It was empty.

"Not here either." He hissed intolerably. "Where is she-"He stopped mid-sentence when his eye landed on a foot sticking out from behind a shelf at the far end of the library. "There you are." His eye narrowed at it in annoyance. Stalking his way past shelves, he reached the last shelf.

His eyebrows furrowed into an annoyed frown. "Hey, Blancbas-" Ciel came to an abrupt stop the moment he moved past the shelf and had his eye to instantly flicked down to the floor to see the said girl slouching against a pillar with her eyes closed. With soft whistling which he assumed as snores could be heard from her as she slouched with her legs stretched out.

"My, my. Sleeping on the job, eh….?" He shot an eyebrow at the sleeping girl. His leg that stretched out towards her in attempt of nudging her awake, abruptly stopped a few inch away from her stretched-out leg. Slowly withdrawing his leg, Ciel studied her face thoughtfully, he let out a sigh of resignation. Seeing how tired she looked, he figured that ordering her to wake up pointless because if she tires herself any further, her performance during the mission would be affected. He wouldn't want that.

_Looks like I'll have to discuss that when she's up._

Watching as her chest gently heaved up and down; he debated whether to leave her here or bring her back up to her room and finally decided.

Tearing his eye away from the sleeping body, he strolled towards the wide opened doors, mumbling his butler's name repeatedly under his breath. "Sebastian…."

Poking his head out to take a glance at either side of the hallway outside, he called out. "Sebastian!"

Leaning against the frame of the door, he waited for the said butler to appear. But as minute past, his eyebrow furrowed into an impatient frown when Sebastian didn't appear.

_Where is that demon?_ _How-_

Then it clicked. Eye widening slightly in realization, he turned to face the library again before strolling his way back to the girl.

_Oh yeah…I forgot. _He thought, shaking his head. _He went off for investigation…_

Ruffling his hair in frustration, he eyed the sleeping girl, deciding on what to do with her. _It will be bad if she get any aches and affect the mission, why didn't she just head upstairs to sleep..? _A sigh emitted from between his lips. _Troublesome and annoying. _

Taking hesitant steps towards her, he knelled on one knee before reaching his arms out to her. Making sure to keep as still as possible, he slid his arms around her in attempt of carrying her in bridal style. Lucky for him, she was light enough for him to do so.

Letting out a soft relieved sigh when he succeeded doing without even causing her to stir, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Slowly getting up to stand, he made his way towards the doors, passing shelf after shelf as he advanced towards it. He just couldn't figure out why having her in his arms was giving him unsettling feelings. Her in his arms didn't make him prickle with discomfort or any unpleasant feelings but instead he actually kind of.…_like_ it.

Ciel nearly dropped her when the girl in his arms suddenly snuggled up against him. Frowning at that, he could feel a blush working its way up and he could feel her warm breath against his chest, it was giving him weird tinglings. Damn it, this is annoying. Why the hell is he blushing? Seriously, what is _wrong_ with him?

Trying to ignore all these nerve-wrecking sensations, he silently reassured himself. _Okay…This is for the mission. _He thought, taking a deep breath.

It took a lot of focus for him to be okay with the contact to finally move out of the library and to his destination.

**…...**

* * *

><p>The day of the mission has finally arrived. As evening falls, the Phantomhive household got busied with the final preparation for the mission lay in the night ahead.<p>

"Ah, done!" Meirin took a step back to admire the puff tie she had just tied around Estella's neck. Its color of light purple was matched nicely with the expensive-looking tailored forest green long coat which clung onto her, the maid had purposely picked a puff tie which will do the job of covering her SIGMA tattoo the moment she knew of it.

Estella shot her a questioning raised eyebrow when she noticed that the maid was gaping at her. "What, Meirin…?"

The maid eagerly pushed up her glasses and spoke with amazement apparent in the tone of her voice. "Wow, Estella…I think I will probably mistake you as a boy if I didn't know you're a girl..!"

"Really…?" Estella tilted her head at Meirin in disbelief. Strolling over to open the door of her cupboard for a view of herself through the mirror on the other side of its door, her eyes widened in surprise to see that what the maid said was true. "I….I look like a pretty boy…._Yuck_." She grimaced in disgust.

"Well, it doesn't matter; at least, you still managed to actually look kind of like a male!" Meirin retorted.

"Yeah, you're right…" The younger female nodded as she studied her reflection. The red wig which length was about the same as the Phantomhive male's, sat securely on her head, hiding her long hair underneath it. With an outfit of a long coat and her legs clad in black shorts with long black stockings, she looked passable as a male. And thanks to the high-heeled black boots, she stood at a new height that made her look almost as tall as the Phantomhive male, helped her to be even more passable as a male. Giving herself a head-to-toes glance, she nodded satisfyingly at her reflection.

**….**

* * *

><p>Estella pulled herself up into the empty carriage which stood waiting at the entrance of the Phantomhive manor before closing the door behind her. Settling down on the seat at the other end of the tiny room, she glance out of the window next to her seat, waiting for Ciel and Sebastian in silence.<p>

A feeling of fear and at the same time, anticipation were what she felt as she continued staring out of the window blankly. He was going to be there. That hateful leader of the sickening organization, namely, Victor Blair, was going to be there. The moment her eyes landed on his name when she scanning through the list of names that day, she knew she got to do it whether it is dangerous or not. This very night will be the first stepping stone for her revenge. Trained in martial arts and dancing by Sebastian, she was ready for the mission ahead. _Almost_ ready. All she needs to do now was to muster all her everything for this, to get rid of the fear within her. Taking on this deadly mission with a calm head will be what she needs for success.

Her eyes closed for a moment before opening again. Confidence shone from her newly opened eyes, she's ready.

Snapping her head over to the door when it swung opened to see Ciel stepping into the carriage, a grin stretched across her face.

Tonight, a cousin of Ciel, 'Adrian Blackwell', was who she was going to be.

"Are you ready, my _dear _cousin…?_"_

**…**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	16. Behind the Masks

**Chapter 15**

* * *

><p>A frustrated sigh blew out from her mouth as Estella glanced over at Ciel who was seated opposite her for the fourth time ever since the carriage drove out of the manor's gates and every time she did that, staring out of the window will be what she sees him do. It's a wonder how he can do that for the past twenty minutes without getting a neck ache.<p>

Not a word from him ever since that 'Tch' he given her in return to her comment when he entered this carriage. Damn it. This silence's really getting on her nerve. Estella stifled a yawn before glancing out at the view outside. Only to be met with flashes of trees flying past and she was pretty sure it has been like that for quite a while.

She let out another sigh. That's it; she can't stand this any longer.

"Hey, Phantomhive."

Eye narrowing at the window, his lips pressed together into a frown line. A drawl laced with a tone of boredom came as a response. "It's _Master_, Blancbaston."

Estella scoffed. "Shouldn't I be addressing you by that since I'm supposed to be your cousin tonight?"

An unimpressed eyebrow shot up at her. "In case you don't know, let me inform you that the mission hasn't started. Yet." Ciel said, folding his arms across his chest. "Once we reach the manor, _that _will be the time when I'll allow you to address me with that. Tonight as an exception aside, I expect that you always address me as simply 'Master' or 'Master Phantomhive', know your place. Hear me?"

"Sureeee….." She rolled her eyes at him and shrugged.

Her eyebrows then furrowed in annoyance when she realized that he have gone quiet again. Oblivious to the incredulous look on her face, he continued staring at the outside_. _

_Honestly, will it kill him to converse? _She thought, eying the male irritably.

Then out of nowhere, a sudden urge to annoy him to hell came at her. "Wow." Estella started with a sardonic smile on her face. "Even though being a girl in disguised as a male, it's amazing that I can actually look better than you who is a _real_ one."

Seeing that Ciel looked liked he's too caught up in his own world, she let out a soft sigh, figuring that her attempt to annoy him to hell would go unnoticed.

"No, you don't." Eyes wide-opened at that, she snapped her head up in surprise to see him with a deadpanned look. "Seriously, Blancbaston, take a look at yourself in a mirror. Just one glance, I can easily tell that you're a girl. You-"An abrupt turn of the carriage cut him in mid-sentence and in the meanwhile, had them lightly pressing up against the side of the carriage as it turned.

"Looks like that the mission's about to start." Estella glanced up at the male upon hearing his comment before turning to the window to realize he's right. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she watched the manor crept closer and closer. Unsettling feelings fluttered in her as she gazed out of the window with unconcealed anticipation.

Taking in a deep breath, she turned back to Ciel to only have a stab of surprise at her when she found him watching her. She shot him a raised eyebrow. "What?" Estella tilted her head in puzzlement, watching as he blinked blankly once, then twice at her.

His eye then lit up in realization. Tearing it away from her, Ciel cursed inwardly at himself. He was staring at her. He was _freaking_ staring at her. Why in the world was he doing that?

Noticing the questioning raised eyebrow at him, Ciel huffed with a frown. "Nothing."

With eyebrows raised even higher, Estella gave a mere casual shrug of shoulders in return before turning back to the view outside. She sucked in a deep gulp of breath and released it as fast as she took it in as she thoughtlessly gazed out at the lawn of flowers that the carriage was moving through. "It's going to be a long night…." She mumbled. A grunt of agreement from the male was it before they fall into silence.

Soon enough when the carriage came to a stop with a slight jerk, their eyes met with a similar glint in them. It's time.

Nodding at Ciel, Estella said with a serious look. "Let's do this, Phantom-ah-Master."

Eying at her thoughtfully, he corrected. "Ciel. You can address me by just that."A stern frown appeared on his face."Well, of course, only for _tonight_, got it?" He said firmly.

"Yeah." Estella grunted, waving a hand dismissively at Ciel.

Watching the male expressionlessly as he pushed himself up from the seat and strolled past her towards the door, she was about to follow but paused when he suddenly stopped and turned his head back to her.

Narrowing her eyes at the smirk that was making its way across his face, her eyes flicked up to his face when he spoke. "Oh yeah…by the way, you do not look attractive as a male so…." The smirk on his face grew to be a smug one as he came to a brief pause."… Don't even think about comparing with me, _Blancbaston_."

"Huh….?"

Gaping with a dumbfounded look on her face, she blinked in puzzlement at his retreating back and watched him disappear through the door.

_What was that about…?_

Frowning at where Ciel disappeared out into, a stab of surprise came at her when his head suddenly popped into view. "How long are you planning to stay there? Get out of there already." He ordered before he disappeared from view again.

Nodding numbly, she stood up and was about to start towards the door when she paused with widened eyes.

Eyes alight with realization, her eyebrows shot up incredulously at the door.

"WHAT?"

**….**

* * *

><p>A gentle breeze swept past her boyish short hair as Estella landed heavily on the cobblestone floor before reaching out to push the carriage's door shut. Lifting the same hand to her head to check that her wig is securely sitting on it, she watched Ciel walked towards her from the carriage's front which she assumed to give orders to Sebastian. With the soft whining of horses sounded from the front, the carriage beside her trudged away, allowing her the view of the huge lawns that it blocked. Giving a quick glance at the huge lawns, she turned back to see Ciel slowing down towards her.<p>

"_Adrian_." His eyes flashed at her the moment he stopped in front of her.

Then he did something unexpected that made her grow rigid. "What the hell are you doing…?" She questioned irritably under her breath, growing uncomfortable with their close proximity as her eyes flicked over to the male who was leaning into her left shoulder.

She heard him hissed into her ear. "Just shut up and listen."

"W-What?" She said shakily, shuddering at the ticklish touch of his warm breath on her ear. Taking a deep breath, she muttered shakily. "F-Fine." She gulped, trying to retrain herself from shoving him away.

Inevitably noticing how they were so close to each other, his eyebrow furrowed in discomfort. "Okay…Take out your hand." He instructed softly. When he felt a prod at his stomach which he assumed it was her hand, Ciel hastily slid out an object from his coat and placed it on her hand.

"What…." She paused. "A pistol…?" A bewildered tone whispered into his ear.

"Hide that; don't let anyone see you with it." Still leaning in to keep it hidden from view as Estella fumbled around with the metallic weapon, Ciel sighed in relief when he saw that it was finally hidden from view. Moving himself away from her, he glanced around the premises, noting the incoming tide of carriages trudging towards them. "_That_ will be yours to use in case of anything that might happen tonight. Keep it hidden until then." He muttered, warily flicking his visible eye about.

Her eyes widened in realization upon hearing his words.

This mission's…going to go underway in only a few minutes time, Estella realized with feelings of dread and fear churning in her stomach.

She was going to meet _them_ again. The organization which held her as prisoner and made her their lab rat. The organization which had brutally murdered everyone that's precious to her. The organization which ruined _her_ _life_. And now, they are probably even after her.

The thought of her needing to mingle with them in the same room made her feel sick; one wrong move and she will be in real danger. Glancing nervously at the male, she was about to speak when a voice interrupted her.

"Ciel~!"

Both froze at that.

**…**

* * *

><p><strong>Estella<strong>

**...  
><strong>

I froze.

_That high-pitched squeal. That name. Why the holy shit does that sound so much like Elizabeth…? _A wave of dread came at me. Glancing up at Ciel when he let out a heavy sigh, I turned towards the source of the voice to only sigh in relief when my eyes landed on it. Lucky for us, well maybe for only _me_ since Ciel looked kind of...depressed for whatever reason (NOT that I care anyway); it was not Elizabeth, thank god.

It was some long brown-haired girl in a scarlet red gown that looked about our age, running over towards us with an excited smile on her face. Noting how Ciel was slowly backing away from the fast-approaching girl, a small smirk couldn't help but make its way across my face. Backing away was proved to be pathetically futile as she lunged and grasped onto his arm as though it was gold.

"You're finally here!" She chirped delightfully, battling her eyelashes flirtatiously up at him.

The next thing that had me gaping was when Ciel who had looked like he badly wanted to be somewhere else a few seconds ago, shot a flirty smile back at her. I nearly wanted to go 'eww' out loud when he patted on her hand that was on his arm and replied in a disgustingly sweet gentlemanly voice. "Of course, your birthday is too important so I didn't want to miss it."

_Whoa. That was uncalled for. _I thought, raising an incredulous eyebrow at him.

"Ciel, who's that..?"

**…..**

* * *

><p>Estella glanced over to the girl in surprise. She grew even more surprised when she noticed that the girl was glancing up at her with a…shy look. Blinking dumbly at the girl, a soft clearing of throat from Ciel had her snapping out of daze.<p>

"Oh, right." She muttered under her breath.

_Let's play the perfect gentleman, shall we?_

Bending down since she was a lot taller now in her high-heeled boots, Estella gently pulled up her hand and gave a soft peck against her porcelain-looking skin.

An unnoticeable smirk stretched across her face when she caught Ciel gaping at her through the sides of her eyes.

Turning her attention back to the Van Rayden girl, she released the hand in hers and said with a gentlemanly smile on her face. "I am Adrian Blackwell, a cousin of Ciel. You can just address me by merely 'Adrian' if you wish to. A pleasure to meet you, my lady."

She nearly burst out laughing when the girl went stuttering over, trying to introduce herself. "Oh o-okay, I-I'm Alice Van Rayden. Pleased to meet you too, Adrian…" The girl curtsied.

_Wow, Meirin's idea for this disguise's…genius. _Estella inwardly awed at the effect of her disguise.

"Let's go in, follow me." The female said, detaching herself from Ciel's arm and ushered them to follow as she strolled towards the huge doors ahead. Glancing at her retreating back, Estella threw a mocking smirk at Ciel. "_Ciel. _So…what were you saying about being able to see that I'm a girl at one glance and how I don't look attractive, hmmm….? She taunted.

With an annoyed glare at her, Ciel growled irritably at her. "Oh, _shut up_."

"I-"

"Ciel! Adrian!"

Both heads snapped over to the female and shot similar gentlemanly smiles at her, speaking in unison. "Coming!" A faint red flush on her face they noticed before she turned away from them had both of them turning to each other with raised eyebrows.

"Let's follow." Ciel prompted, starting towards the waiting girl ahead.

"So… what was with that flirting , huh?" Estella questioned, leaning towards him the moment she caught up with him. "That was _waayyyy_ weird from you, I didn't know you _flirt_." She eyed the male in disdain as they walked beside each other.

"That was just an _act_, Blancbaston." Ciel said dryly with a deadpanned look on his face before turning back to the front.

The next thing he did make him feel like strangling himself was when he suddenly turned back to Estella with a taunting smirk and blurted out. "Jealous, aren't you...?"

He froze. _What the hell did I…..?_

Giving himself a mental face-palm, he couldn't figure out what has gotten into him that made him say that ridiculous comment. Ciel Phantomhive was rendered speechless Rendered speechless by _himself_. That was, that was…idiotic.

"Ignore that." He ordered curtly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Without a glance over at Estella, he quickened his pace towards the doors, shaking his head in bewilderment at himself.

**…**

* * *

><p>The familiar scene of a ball played out in front of her as Estella watched quietly from the side of the room. People were strewn about the golden-ish marble floor, swirling away in different colors at the center of the huge room while the other far end of the room was bustled with well-dressed businessmen and ladies were where most the chatters could heard from.<p>

Sweeping her gaze around the room, her eyes narrowed in disdain.

_One._

_Two._

_Three._

_Four._

Four of them. Her eyes narrowed. Where was Victor?

That bastard leader of SIGMA was strangely absent. A quick glance around the room confirmed his absence. Taking another glance around, she simply couldn't figure the reason for the nagging unease at that absence.

_SIGMA…._

Noting the faces of contentment and joy that could be seen on almost of all dancers, she was simply amazed at how oblivious they can be to the danger among them. Fixating her eyes on a certain duo, she scoffed at the uncharacteristic smile on the male's face.

It was not hard for her to figure out why Ciel told her that trying to gather information will be difficult for him in this mission. That Alice Van Rayden girl reminds her too much of Elizabeth, in a way that her high-pitched voice and how she loves to stick with him. With her hogging him, trying to gather information _will _certainly be difficult.

Shaking her head at the duo, Estella jumped when a low voice came from somewhere behind. "Find someone to dance with or else you'll look suspicious." Turning towards the source, she merely nodded when she saw that it was Sebastian. Quickly spotting a female, she started forward to carry out her task.

**…..**

* * *

><p>Estella was really impressed on how much her disguise can deceive. Glancing down at the Van Rayden girl in her arms, She couldn't help but watched in amusement as the girl chattered on. But how did she end up dancing with her? A request from the girl which had Estella taken aback and that's how they came to this conclusion.<p>

Unfortunately, the only information she had gained from their dance so far was what kind of jeweleries this Van Rayden girl have in her drawer. Dancing with her was tortuously _boring _and fruitless.

Growing more annoyed as the useless droning continued, she let out a soft sigh.

_That's it. Looks like I'll have to DIG it out from her. _

Clearing her throat which had the girl shooting her a puzzled look, Estella was about to speak when a prick of discomfort, a horrible feeling of being watched ran down her spine. Still twirling with Alice who looked puzzled, a sudden strong nagging urge to look up won and made her comply with it.

Glancing about to locate its source, her eyebrows furrowed in an instant when her eyes elevated to the top of the grand stairs across them.

There stood a lone male adolescent with arms folded across his chest, gazing at their direction. No, seems more like particularly _her_. She knew she was right when her ice blue ones met with his amethyst ones.

A brief eye contact before twirling away from his direction, her eyes then widened when she faced the stairs again.

He was gone.

**...**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	17. Shit Happens

**Chapter 16**

* * *

><p>Damn, she was bored.<p>

Yes, bored out of her mind but it definitely beats listening to someone droning on about their jeweleries and the parties they'd been to, which she don't give a freaking damn about. Just as Estella was racking her brain for ways to get some _useful_ information from that Alice girl, Ciel stepped in and saved her poor ears, thank god.

A quick look around the room, a puzzled look appeared on her face when she realized the absence of Sebastian; Estella turned back to the dance floor once again. She stifled a yawn, the vision of the dancing duo behind her forming tears. Savagely wiping off those forming pools, her eyebrows furrowed into a frown.

There was that uncharacteristic smile again, she noted disdainfully. It makes her wonder whether she will ever get to see a real one. That's when she realized, she doesn't know a single thing about Ciel Phantomhive…Yes, she maybe_ did_ know something, just about his company and him being the Queen's watchdog was all. Her eyes narrowed at the male, following his every movement with curiosity.

"How do you find the ball, boy..?" Pulling her attention away from the duo, only to grow rigid the moment she turned to the speaker. Rigid with shock and fear was it.

Quickly composing herself, she turned towards him and glanced up to meet the familiar scarred face of Roger Eddington. "It's lovely. But, may I know who are you, Mister…?" She asked, trying not to sound nervous.

"Oh, sorry…I forgot to introduce myself." The man glanced down at her apologetically. "I'm Roger Eddington." He stuck a hand out towards her.

Grasping the hand, she forced out a smile. "I'm Adrian Blackwell." A shake of their hands, she quickly retracted her hand, fighting the urge to wipe it onto her coat the instant it was released. Maintaining a smiling face over the grimace of disgust which was dangerously close to surfacing, she watched a puzzled frown forming on his already-marred face.

Worry growing within her as she fought to not do stupid things like running from the man at the very moment, anything that will certainly make her look suspicious.

Swallowing the lump in her throat when she saw that he was going to ask her something, given from the puzzled frown, he did the exact. "How come-"

"Adrian." The owner of a voice which she was really grateful to for interrupting the man in the midst of his question, placed a hand on her shoulder. Snapping over to the speaker, her eyes widened slightly in surprise to see the male who was supposed to be dancing away with Alice on the dance floor, now beside her. The gratitude towards him was indescribable.

"It's time to go." Ciel said coolly, turning to Roger Eddington to acknowledge him with an equally cool nod. "Sorry, but he needs to go now."

"Sure." The man nodded back before turning back to her. "It was nice to meet you, Blackwell. Goodbye."

"Bye." She uttered, forcing another smile at him before turning away towards her waiting 'cousin'. "Let's go."

A heavy sigh of relief when she was nearing the entrance doors, she took a glance back at the on-going ball behind before turning to step through the doors to catch up with Ciel.

God, how glad was she to get out of there and she was sure throughout her life till now, the urge to get out of a ball had never been _this_ strong before.

**...**

* * *

><p>The carriage door swung closed behind them and they plopped down on the same seat, simultaneously letting out heavy sighs.<p>

A glance at each other upon hearing their simultaneous sigh, a grateful smile broke across Estella's face. "Hey…Thanks for saving me."

A long stare at her. "It's nothing." Ciel finally spoke with a drawl, waving a hand dismissively at her. An annoyed frown at a realization, he started. "Why are you sitting beside me?" He eyed her with that frown.

Incredulity passed over her face. "Why can't I?"

"Sit over there." Ciel said dryly, pointing at the spot on the seat opposite him. "I don't want to sit with-"A jerk of the carriage as it turned to enter the road outside the gates cut him in mid-sentence.

When the carriage was once again calm, he curtly said. "I don't want to sit with you, Blancbaston."

Shooting him an indifferent look, she shrugged. "Too bad, I don't care, I like it here. Besides, it's dangerous to move about in a moving vehicle. So…." Estella turned to him with a sardonic smile. "I'm staying _here._"

Mouth slightly slackened at her, he shook his head in bewilderment at her. "Forget it." A sigh escaped from his lips.

"Great!" She said cheerfully.

"Blancbaston." Ciel started, glancing over to her with a serious look. "Gathered any information?"

A scoff at the thought of the dance with the Alice girl, she spoke. "Yeah, they were really useful. I found out that she have all sorts of jeweleries in her collection and have also attended twenty parties so far this year." The sarcasm that was so heavy in her voice had Ciel shooting her a raised eyebrow.

A snort at her answer, Ciel shot her an amused smirk. "Well, I'd obtained something far more useful than yours…"The smirk fell into a serious look."…. and from what I have obtained, it looks like there's going to be another mission for you."

"What is it again…?" Estella groaned, had enough of doing crazy things like earlier.

"I'll brief you on that tomorrow."

"Well, screw that mission…." A yawn sounded from beside him before the carriage fell into silence.

"Seriously, Blancbaston. " The male shot her a deadpanned look. "You better not have that mission _screwed_, you hear me?" He warned, shooting her a dark look.

"Whatever..."She said dismissively, lifting a hand up to her head.

Watching as the female pulled off the wig to have her long hair tumbling out over her shoulders, he turned away to the window. Staring out at the flying flashes outside tiredly, he slowly leaned in towards the glass of the window, hoping sleep would while time away as they made their way back to his manor.

The light touch of the glass on the side of his head was all before he shot upright again, startled by the sudden weight on his shoulder. Eye widening in surprise with red creeping up his face was his instant reaction the moment he identified it.

"B-Blancbaston, what the hell are you doing?" He asked, growing uncomfortable. But was only to have a sound that sounded akin to snores in return.

She's asleep, Ciel realized.

With a heavy sigh, he let out a groan at that realization.

**…..**

* * *

><p>"Phantomhive…."<p>

Amethyst eyes narrowed, glancing at the distant wide-opened gates through the glass of the huge window, watching as the carriage moved along the road outside before disappearing out of sight as it turned into a corner.

Spinning away from the window, the male adolescent strolled towards the railing and stopped, watching the ball play out below him. His eyes swept about the room from overhead, taking in its details.

Eyes fixated on the scarred face of a certain man, he mused.

"Looks like it's going to be a long night…."

**…..**

* * *

><p>I was on the move, racing and darting around to keep hidden with footsteps as lithe and silent as possible as my cloak danced softly to the small breeze. It was the perfect setting for this job in this area, with little light to guide me and being enveloped in darkness to conceal in. I kept myself hidden, ducking out of sight when I had heard footsteps coming. Eyes looked down carefully to see who the person was, scarcely breathing at this point. Despite the darkness, I could easily assess that the figure was my target. Managed to keep myself undiscovered as he moved passed and away, I gave myself a mental pat on the back- the first success.<p>

What the hell was I doing? Well, like what that damn Phantomhive had mentioned about a mission on the night of that ball, that was how I came to this conclusion. A very dangerous one, I must add. I'm really starting to think that he's insane. First, the ball and now, _this_. What the heck! All he and his butler did was dropped me off before taking off again, saying that they need to talk to someone.

They left me with a task to follow Elliot Van Rayden, Alice's dad; into what he suspected to be a SIGMA gathering- an insane thing to do when I'm like probably the one they are after.

And what are they going to do?

Well, they are going to _fucking_ talk to someone. What's wrong with them?

Gritting my teeth in annoyance at my thoughts, I shook my head, trying to clear them off my mind. I can't afford to be distracted; one wrong move and I'm dead. Lifting my hand to my head to check that the black wig was securely sitting on it, I watched as the man disappeared into an alley.

I pulled the hood of the cloak securely over my head with eyes fixated on the alley. As cautiously as I could, I crept towards the alley noiselessly, seemingly muting my every breath of inhalation and exhalation as I peeked into the alley to see a doorless entrance at the side of the left building.

"An underground base, huh…" I muttered, noting the stairs leading down to somewhere as I entered the alley.

A quick glance around and a deep breath, I was in.

**...**

* * *

><p>"What is your business here, kid? This is not a place for you, get out of here." The man said gruffly, the huge muscles rippling as he pointed at the stairs behind her.<p>

"But isn't this the herb shop? My mama told me to get her some herbs from here." Estella tilted her head at the man with feigned puzzlement, glancing at the door behind him. The very familiar symbol of SIGMA on it had her confirming that Ciel's assumption was right.

"No, it's not, okay? Go home and tell your mother that she got it wrong!" The man yelled at her through gritted teeth, growing impatient.

Seeing that angering the man will be dangerous, she spoke, still putting on the act. "Sorry, uncle. I guess I'll go now."

"Good."

Though she didn't get to know much the gathering, she at least did find out the location of a SIGMA's hideout; just knowing was enough to report back to her master.

Shrugging to herself, she spun away, only to bump with someone. "Sorry." She muttered, glancing up apologetically. Ice blue to Amethyst, she tore away, breaking the contact as she quickened her pace to get out.

Stopping right outside the alley, she came to an abrupt stop when a realization hit her.

She frowned in puzzlement at the feeling of nostalgia.

Amethyst…? Why did those eyes look so familiar?

**…..**

* * *

><p>"Shit." Estella stopped in her tracks, a dreadful feeling stirred within her- she was followed. An inward groan, she was actually heading to the meeting point where she will meet up with Ciel and Sebastian, looking forward to a sleep after a long night. However, judging from her situation, it looks like this long night was going to be an even longer one.<p>

Racing down the alley, she confirmed that she was indeed followed when one shouted over to his partner. "Catch her!"

Strands of hair whipped around her face, she sprinted down the narrow lane as fast as her legs could carry her. Darting around in attempt to lose them, she ran across the empty street and again entered another alley. Forcing her legs to push harder, her heart pounded to the beat of her feet racing over the hard ground as a mild burn started seeping into her muscles. Sweat beaded her forehead, causing her hair to cling to it as her throat ached for air.

Damn it. Where in the world are those two when she needs them?

Busy darting around corners after corners, she finally glanced back to only to be surprise not to see them behind. Glancing around the premise to see it completely deserted, the triumph smirk on her face disappeared as quickly as it came when the two figures appeared into the alley before her, running up towards her.

"Damn it! Why are they coming after me-"

The feeling of something encircling around her waist had her stopping in mid-sentence.

The next thing she knew was that she was pulled into a carriage and subsequently, having the view of two running figures disappearing behind a closing carriage door. A jerk was it before the carriage started moving.

Blinking at the carriage door, a sigh of relief blew out from her lips.

"Thank god, you guys came." She said, starting to turn in the leather seat.

"Seriously, Phantomhive. Why did you take so-" Eyes widening in shock, her jaw unhinged itself at the person in front of her.

"You….!"

Disbelief shone in her eyes.

She gasped. "Alois Trancy….?"

The lopsided amused smirk on the said male's face drooped as he shook his head disapprovingly at her. "No, no. It should be 'Your Highness'_,_ Luka."

**…**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	18. Spider's Web

**Chapter 17**

* * *

><p>Okay, I'm having one hell of a night, no thanks to Phantomhive.<p>

I was sent off to do some insane mission of following Elliot Van Rayden into a _freaking_ SIGMA's hideout, ran from SIGMA's men and ended up in Crazy Trancy's carriage, kidnapped and now heading towards his manor. All I wanted to do was to head back and curl up in my comfy bed. I think someone from above or maybe the male_ clinging_ onto me who is none other than Alois Trancy, must really hate me to actually ruin my plan.

"Stop fidgeting, Luka..." The tightening of his arms around my waist that was subsequently pressing me closer to him left me unable to move any further away from him and also had me to stop my squirming as I shuddered at the breath that tickled the crook of my neck when he spoke.

The weight on my shoulder shifted. "I missed you so much, Luka...Do you miss me too?" The male asked quietly, again making me shudder when his breath once again lightly brushed across the skin of my neck.

"No." I glared down at his blond hair. "Get off me, Trancy." I nudged irritably at the male but whom-to my annoyance- in return, stubbornly tightened his arms around my waist.

"Looks like someone has forgotten again~" His head tilted up, greeting me with a glint of amusement in his light blue eyes. "It should be 'Your Highness'."

I sighed. "What do you want...? And why are you here...?"

This, to my surprise and delight, had him getting his head up from my shoulder, throwing his hands up cheerfully. "Of course to save Luka!"

I blinked blankly at him. Save me?

My eyebrows furrowed into a frown at him. "But how did you know...?"

"I just know~" He twirled a blond lock between his fingers, waving his other hand airily at me.

"Right, you just know." I deadpanned. "What do you mean by you just-"

"Don't worry, Luka…" My face scrunched up into puzzled lines as I glanced up from the black lump of wig on my lap, only to see him glaring very heatedly at the fist he raised in front of him. "Those men will pay for trying to hurt my Luka…" His upper lip curled up into a snarl at his trembling fist. "They'll pay….I'll get them for you!"

I shot him an awkward smile, suddenly feeling scared for pursuers. Oh, I'll hate to be them because Alois Trancy looks ready to kill right now.

"Relax…" I gingerly reached out to give him a pat on his shoulder."It's okay."

"Luka!" I jerked back, blinking numbly back at the excited smile on his face.

Whoa, wasn't he all glaring and ready to kill someone just now? Is it even possible to be angry and suddenly completely happy in the next second?

"You're going to be staying at my manor! And the next morning, I'll get Ciel to join us for tea! Aren't you excited?" Taken back by how those blue eyes of his that they seemed to be sparkled at me when he said that, I merely said. "No, I'm not."

I gave him a quick shake of my head. "Besides, who says I'll be staying in your manor? _Please_ get me back to the Phantomhive manor; I would like to retire for the night, thank you very much." I glanced up to look him straight in the eye, only to see him sulking.

"Luka…." He whined.

A pang of guilt from nowhere came at me at the disappointed look. Damn it, why the hell do I feel guilty?

"_No. I am NOT going to stay at your manor, I'm going back to the Phantomhive manor whether you like it or not. And that's final._" This was what I imagined myself to say. But instead, I hear myself saying, "Fine, I'll stay." And then I paused the minute I finished that reply, slapping a hand over my mouth. Holy cow, what the _fuck_ did I say?

_Fix it! Damn, fix it! _A tiny voice screamed at me.

Shaking my head at myself, I added hastily. "For _one_ night only, since it's already so late." I slumped back on the seat dejectedly, giving myself a mental face-palm.

Great, I was supposed to _fix it_, what the hell did I just do?

I glanced up with a heavy sigh to see his face lighting up excitedly at me once again, evaporating the forming thought of telling him that I change my mind. And afterall, he _did_ save me.

I swallowed. "Just…Just….write over to Phantomhive to inform him." I said grudgingly.

"Luka~" Gaping at the arms flying towards me, a duck of my head was proved to futile when an arm hooked onto my neck and pulled me into him.

Two things- scratch that- _three _things I learned tonight; Alois Trancy loves hogging me, he behaves like a kid and lastly, he's bipolar.

Wincing when his chin rested heavily on my head, I groaned.

Damn it, my much-desired sleep just seemed to have gotten even further.

**...**

* * *

><p>Frowning, he sighed heavily. Where<em> is<em> she? Don't tell me she's…

"What is your order, Young Master…?" Sebastian said, looking expressionlessly at his silent master.

Strolling into the entrance hall of his manor the moment Sebastian pushed opened its doors; Ciel glanced back at him with a deepened frown. "Sebastian…" He blinked in thoughts at the butler, strangely at a loss upon his servant's disappearance. Regret, guilt and worry- mostly worry- now stirred within him. "…Find that hideout of SIGMA and get Blancbaston." His grip on his cane tightened.

A long stare at his master, Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the male. _Worried…?_

"Yes, my lord." He finally bowed. Straightening up, Sebastian took a glance at his pocket watch before sliding it back into his coat again. "It's time for you retire for the night. Good night, Young Master." He nodded. "I'll be off then." A wave of hand at him from Ciel, he pulled opened the door and stepped out.

Closing the door behind him the moment he was out, his raven black hair danced in the light breeze as it passed. _Young Master is getting soft, ehhh…_

A tiny flare of pinkish red from his eyes was all before he took off.

**….**

* * *

><p>Bedroom. Empty.<p>

Library. Empty.

Training room. Empty.

Kitchen. Empty.

Now, back to her bedroom.

Ciel pushed opened the door, only to have his heart sinking in disappointment- Her bedroom was empty once again. Don't know why he's pinning for the result to be different from the first, he shook his head at how foolish he's behaving.

The hope in him that got him to stay awake and out of his bed despite his tiredness after a long night, died like an extinguished flame. Regret, guilt and worry once again gripped him as he glanced stonily at the empty bed in the center of the room before turning away from the lonely room, not bothering to shut its door.

Why did he let her go alone? How can he be so _stupid_…? He still can't believe that he sent her to a SIGMA's hideout even though he knew that it's dangerous. Dangerous particularly for _her_.

An image of the girl staring frozen at the people gathering around the operation table she's lying on popped up in his mind as he closed the door behind him and walked numbly towards his bed. Heavily resting his head on the pillow as he laid down, another image of tears leaking out from the ice-blue eyes of her with fear so vividly written in them had him widening his eye at the ceiling of his poster bed.

Shutting his eye in frustration, the hand that was gripping onto the blanket trembled as regret, worry and guilt grew even stronger at that disturbing image.

"Damn it…." He muttered breathlessly, shifting to his side.

**….**

* * *

><p>She's feeling damn cold.<p>

But again, feeling cold when you're bathing in the middle of the night was expected.

Another waterfall pouring out from the hovering bucket over her head had her spluttering again. Hastily pushing her wet red hair away that clung onto to the sides of her face, Estella shakily reach out to grip onto the edge of the bathtub. A shaky sigh of relief when the maid who introduced to her as 'Hannah', strolled back with a white towel, a signal as the end of her very cold bath.

Estella started with a tremble. "Thanks, Hannah." She accepted the towel gratefully.

"You're welcome, my lady." The maid nodded at her.

"Estella." She corrected. "Just call me that."

Hannah tilted her head at her. "But-"

"It's alright." She interjected. "Just call me that."

Silently disagreeing to that request, Hannah merely nodded.

"Hannah," She glanced down at Hannah who crouched down to her level to help her dress, feeling uncomfortable with being naked in front of the maid. "Why…" She hesitated. "…that 'Luka' name…? Why is your master always calling me that…?"

Catching how the maid froze for a second, it just made her- for unknown reason- immediately came to regret asking that question.

"That name was the name…. of his dead brother." Hannah said quietly."Your red hair reminds him of his brother…"

"His brother…" Estella stared at the mirror opposite her to see her reflection staring back with widened eyes.

"Put your arm through here." Hannah instructed softly, snapping her out of her trance.

Numbly putting her left arm into the long sleeve of the nightgown as told, her head snapped over to the bathroom's door at a knock.

"The young master grows impatient."

Estella recognized the voice as that of the butler, Claude. The one who had an air about him and the golden eyes that unnerved her.

The reminder of his presence nudged regret at her for agreeing to stay in this manor, it just made her wish that morning will come faster, yearning to go back to the Phantomhive manor.

**….**

* * *

><p>Why did she agree to let him sleep with her? Maybe because she pitied him for the loss of his brother, unable to turn him down; the news of his dead brother must be getting to her for her to actually agree. Damn it, she must be <em>insane<em>.

Watching tiredly as Alois eagerly scrambled onto the bed beside her, she sighed heavily and shut her eyes, too tired to watch him any longer.

"Night, Luka…" His voice drifted into her ears as she felt something that felt akin to the blanket, fell over her. Her consciousness about to slip away, a small pressure on her forehead had her snapping her eyes open once again to be met with the sight of a chin.

"Seriously," An incredulous look appeared immediately on her face the moment she came to a realization, "why do you love kissing me so much…?" Her hand lazily reached up to wipe at the area his lips rested on the moment the male moved away and laid sprawled beside her.

When there was no response, she just turned away from him, again about to drift off to sleep.

A jolt when she felt an arm snaked around her waist, the next thing she felt was warmth against her back.

Glancing over at its source to see him- to her annoyance- asleep, she groaned.

The urge to get back to the Phantomhive manor grew even stronger.

**….**

* * *

><p>Ciel narrowed his eyes at the parchment in his hand.<p>

_What do that stupid Trancy want? Inviting me for tea…?_ He eyed at it dubiously. _I can't believe I actually decided to come for this. _

Frowning in annoyance, he crushed the parchment in his hand before glancing up at the entrance door of the manor. Feeling disturbed when Sebastian returned to report that she's not at the hideout, he could only turn to this.

"Claude."

Sebastian behind him greeted the said butler with hostility as they made their way into the manor.

A voice greeted them the moment they done so. "You're here!" Ciel instantly scowled in disdain at that.

He then turned to the direction of the voice with that scowl. "Trancy, what do you-"

Stopping in mid-sentence, his jaw slackened at the person before him.

"Blancbaston…." He started with his eyes widened at the person in disbelief. "What _on earth _are you doing here?"

**….**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	19. Paradoxical Emotions

**Chapter 18**

* * *

><p>"He didn't inform you?" Estella frowned, glancing around in search for someone.<p>

Ciel just stared at her. The worry and regret just seemed to disappear at a snap. Now, he's furious.

His jaw clenched, he shot her a heated glare. "What are you doing here in his manor? Didn't I make it clear enough for you to _wait for me_ there?" He couldn't figure why he was feeling so angry. Despite himself, more continued flying out from his mouth. "I thought you were captured by them! Is it so difficult to follow an order?" He threw up his hands exasperatedly.

Estella stiffened at the accusation in his eye. Anger pulsing through her body at that, her eyes narrowed at him.

"Funny." She scoffed sardonically. Her voice steady despite the anger that was ready to lash out. "Shouldn't _I _be the one yelling?"

"What was that supposed to mean, Blancbaston?" Ciel asked icily. Sebastian from behind leaned forward and whispered something into his ears before straightening up again.

Tilting her head with a frown at them, she spoke to answer Ciel's question anyway. "Well, I was-"

"Shut up." The male interrupted her with a pointed look.

His words stung. "_What_?" She frowned incredulously at him.

But all he did was gave a quick flick of eye at her before turning his attention to something behind her. "Trancy."

As if on cue, an arm fell around her shoulder. "Oh." She turned to its owner to see it was Alois with an excited look on his face. "Ciel, you came!"

"Yes, and we're leaving now." Ciel snapped, turning towards the doors behind him. "Blancbaston, let's go."

"Luka's not leaving." He paused, narrowing his eye in annoyance at the door ahead. He whipped around with a glare to see 'Luka' shooting Alois behind her an annoyed frown. Her back held against the blonde, the arms around her waist tightened possessively as he shot back a dark look at him.

_Luka…?_ His eye darted to and fro at the two.

The glare on his face faltered. "She's not Luka." Ciel deadpanned. He folded his arms across his chest impatiently. "What do you want, Trancy?" He drawled intolerably.

"Tea~" Alois chirped. An excited smile appeared on his face, he finally released Estella who was squirming the whole time.

Ciel grimaced. "No."

"Then Luka's not leaving~" Alois said with a lopsided smirk, resting an arm on Estella's shoulder which earned himself a glare from its owner.

Ciel shot an unimpressed raised eyebrow at him. He scoffed. "We shall see." Narrowing his eye at them, he finally spoke. "Sebastian. This is an order. Get-"

"Goddamn it! Let's just have that damn tea, okay?" Estella snapped. She pushed the arm off her shoulder and stepped away from Alois, ignoring the incredulous look shot over to her from Ciel. "Where are we having it?" She asked Alois.

Alois perked up excitedly. "The garden!" He chirped in delight, grabbing hold of her hand. "Follow me!" He turned, tugging her along.

"Claude, come." He said, striding past his butler who instantly gave a small bow.

Watching the three retreating backs, Ciel sighed irritably. "Blancbaston!" He yelled after them. His eyebrows furrowed into a frown when he realized that they have already exited the room.

"Young Master." He glanced over at Sebastian. "Shall I…?" Sebastian shot him a serene smile.

He shook his head. "Forget it." He waved his hand dismissively at his butler. "Let's just get over with this stupid tea party…" He said grudgingly, starting towards the door they disappeared through.

**….**

* * *

><p>The jerks and bumps came from the carriage under them as it made its way out into the rather rocky road outside the Trancy estate. Sebastian glanced from his master seated beside him to Estella.<p>

Claude's words came back to him.

"That Blancbaston servant smells rather interesting…"

Studying the red head, a tiny flare of pinkish red from his eyes, he opened himself to his surrounding and took a whiff.

Demonic essence hit at him like a slap. Stronger than ever before.

A frown marred the poker facade on his face, the frown instantly faltered into poker again when the female turned to him with a puzzled look. "What is it, Sebastian?"

"Nothing."

Estella shrugged. "Oh yeah, Sebastian. You always take the front. Why aren't you this time?"

He shook his head. "Not always."

A nod at him, she turned to Ciel who spoke. "Why didn't you wait like I told you to?" He started quietly. His eye hard on her. "You went with Trancy and stayed in his manor. How can I entrust you with more missions in the future if you're like _this_. I thought you were captured by SIGMA." He said icily.

Estella shot him an annoyed look. "Actually, I _was_ nearly captured by SIGMA." The male perked up in his seat at that with a frown. She continued. "Alois Trancy saved me and brought me back to his manor. While that happened, you two were _fucking _talking to someone." She hissed.

"Language." Sebastian warned.

A grunt from her, her eyes stayed on Ciel who glared at her from her cussing. "That someone we talked to was so to retrieved information about SIGMA. I'm doing a favor for both of us." He said, folding his arms across his chest."And let me guess…you want me to write a 'thank you' letter over to Trancy?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Maybe you should." She leaned back on the seat, too folding her arms across her chest.

"Well, I don't think that's necessary. Tea was enough." Ciel said, glancing out to see that they were approaching towards his manor. He glanced back to her. "Give me a report on the mission later."

Estella stifled a yawn and nodded. "Right..."

**….**

* * *

><p>Reigning over the laughter bubbling inside that was ready to burst out at any moment, was not an easy task. Her body shook to the soft snickers escaping from her mouth. A glare from Ciel had her snickering even harder, her eyes that held amusement, darted to and fro at the male and Sebastian.<p>

Their bare foreheads which she never thought she'll get to see, stared back at her. They were so blindingly weird, a sight she's not used to.

An amused smirk crept across her face at how the two were standing there like soldiers, bodies rigid and upright. The smirk widened at the pained look on Ciel's face. She noted how Ciel followed the woman who was done inspecting him like a commander to a soldier, strolled over to Sebastian beside him with his eye. The butler glanced down at her with a strained smile.

Estella then glanced over to Elizabeth who was watching the situation with an awkward smile.

She could still so vividly remember the shocked look on Ciel's face the moment they stepped into the manor. The woman went straight into tugging their hair behind their ears and stuff. She quickly learned from Elizabeth that she was her mother. In other words, her master's aunt and soon to be mother-in-law.

The look of dread on Ciel's face from earlier had her bursting into another round of snickering.

Slapping a hand over her mouth when the woman suddenly whipped around with a sharp look.

"What's so funny, girl?" The woman stalked towards her with a glare.

"Nothing." Estella said sheepishly, suddenly feeling intimidated by the female in front of her. She gulped. Dislike was what she could see in the woman's eyes.

"What's your name?

"Estella Blancbaston." She replied meekly.

The woman straightened at that. "Blancbaston…? Why does that sound so familiar..?" She mumbled in thoughts to herself. She continued despite herself. "A maid, I see." She frowned at her. "Why aren't you dressed like one?" She eyed the shirt and pants on Estella, shaking her head disapprovingly at her. "Even worse, shirt and pants…? A female should be dressed like a female."

"Actually, I'm a maid _and_ a bodyguard, my lady." Estella corrected politely. "I apologize for my current attire." She bowed.

The female gave her a head-to-toes glance with an incredulous look. "A bodyguard?" She asked dubiously.

Estella frowned. A shadow of annoyance crossed her face for being doubted. "I ensure that I will be able to do the job well."

A 'tsk' from Ciel had her glaring at him and his aunt raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, really? It seems that your master doesn't think so." She said with the raised eyebrow. "Shall I give you a test then?"

Her eyebrows furrowed into a determined frown, Estella replied fiercely. "Please do, my lady." She gave a small bow.

"Good."

...

* * *

><p>Estella sat sprawled on the floor, staring wide eye and panting at the blade at her neck. She swallowed the lump in her throat before glancing at the towering woman. Frances, who she found out to be the woman's name, lowered the fencing sabre and passed it over to Sebastian who came over.<p>

Frances shook her head at her. "I don't think so, Blancbaston."

Estella's body slackened dejectedly at that. Those words stung, disappointment sunk heavily on her.

She watched the woman turned to her silent nephew who stood against the wall. "I do not deem her fit as a bodyguard. She's not good enough; she's better off just being a maid."

The male pushed himself from the wall and strolled over to where she stood, glancing down at the said girl. "Hmm..." Ciel eyed her with a poker face. "Maybe you're right." Ciel shot her a pointed look, nodding to himself with a small thoughtful and seemingly mocking smile at her.

Estella went rigid at that.

Was he going to agree to that…? Calling him by 'Phantomhive' over and over again despite being told not to. Glaring at him, insulting him. The realization of a risk to being like what his aunt, no longer a bodyguard that would have been the better job than a maid for her revenge, had her ready to protest.

"However, Aunt." She about to protest, snapped her mouth closed when Ciel spoke. "I would like to determine my servants whether are deemed fit or not myself. Leave this matter to me, don't waste your time on a servant like her."

At that, she was relieved but yet, she- doesn't know why- winced at that last bit.

His aunt glanced down at her before glancing up at Ciel with a nod. "Alright. I'll leave her to you."

"When do we need to leave for that party?" Ciel asked.

Frances glanced over at her daughter who stood quietly against the wall before her. She glanced back down at her nephew. "Soon. I suggest that you prepare for it now. Elizabeth is prepared." She then turned to Sebastian. "Sebastian, go and help your master to find a good and appropriate suit for the party. People are eager to meet this couple, make sure that Earl Phantomhive and his fiance do not leave a bad impression."

A nod from Sebastian, she turned back to Ciel. "Don't bring her." She jutted her chin at Estella.

Ciel raised an eyebrow at her but still nodded. "Right."

The mentioned girl stared wide eye at him before glancing down on the floor with a sigh, feeling strangely disappointed and…betrayed.

"Blancbaston."

She glanced up to see Ciel staring stonily at her. "Get yourself cleaned up and proceed to do your chores."

She was taken aback by the violet-blue eye that stared down at her. No hints of nonchalance, no hints of annoyance when they always fought or anything. His attitude towards her was plainly, strictly….just servant and master. Of course, they _were_ obviously just servant and master, but this felt different from before where there was some kind of friendliness between; it's like a big fat line has been drawn between them. There was no friendliness like the one before, just servant and…master.

"Blancbaston, you hear me?"

She scrambled to stand instantly at that, mumbling an apology.

Ciel watched her rose up to stand. A bow from her had him frowning at her, an unusual thing for her to do. He should be glad that she's finally being respectful to him. But strangely, he felt weird, seeing her bowing to him and he couldn't understand why he didn't like it.

"Yes, master. I shall take me leave then." Estella bowed stiffly at him, refusing to meet his eye. Without a word, she spun on her heels and strode towards the exit of the training room.

Staring after her with an unreadable look, Ciel watched her disappear behind the door.

Frances cocked an eyebrow at her nephew. Was it just her or was he…

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the door where the servant girl walked through. A tiny frown she noticed on her daughter's face had her frowning. A shrug of shoulders to herself, she prompted. "Alright, go and get prepared."

**….**

* * *

><p>Estella pulled her legs in and rested her chin heavily on her knees before leaning back on the headboard of her bed behind. A heavy sigh escaped from her lips.<p>

What the hell was that?

She shut her eyes tiredly. A muffled slam from downstairs had opening her eyes again. The puzzled frown at that slam faltered instantly she remembered about the party her master's aunt mentioned; they must have already left for the party. That, she realized, means there were only the four other servants and her left in the manor. A sigh, she climbed off the bed, heading off to join them.

Pulling the door opened, she froze. Her eyes widened at a whisper.

"_Weak._"

**….**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	20. Cold War, Hot War

**Chapter 19**

* * *

><p>Red eyes stared down at her. She backed away at an instant, feeling tiny under them like how she was now. Her eyes stayed fixed on them, they seemed unnervingly not human; they looked menacing. Darkness was all that she saw every time she turned, and no matter where she runs to, there was always that pair of red eyes and the endless cold darkness.<p>

_Weak…._There was always this whisper following her everywhere.

She finally stopped, it seemed impossible to escape those red eyes. She panted, glancing up at the red eyes. "What _are_ you?" She yelled.

But nothing came. The whispers just kept coming. _Weak…Weak…._

"Get me out of here!"

Again, nothing. However, there was a flicker of change to it this time. Those eyes unlike its unreadable earlier self, there was a hint of amusement in them.

The next thing she knew happened was that she was falling. The eyes still held amusement as they grew smaller and smaller.

Darkness followed after her as she fell, everything became complete black.

**…..**

* * *

><p>Estella woke up with a start.<p>

Her chest heaved fast ups and downs as she stared wide- eyed at the ceiling of her poster bed. There was the bright morning sunlight on the floor from the gap between the curtains, and that presence was comforting.

She lay still, thinking about her dream. This was the third night she dreamt of this dream. They were always the same; she would always be yelling and all she always get was always would just be that amusement in those eyes. Falling would always be how they would end and that sets her to wonder where she was falling into. What she did know was that those eyes were _definitely_ not human unless their owner's suffering a very serious eye infection.

She shuddered, grateful that it was already morning. She left the bed and walked towards the bathroom, could no longer stand staying in bed.

**…..**

* * *

><p>Ciel dropped the pen with a sigh of frustration. He glanced over to the grandfather clock and noted that it was already one. He couldn't focus on the paperwork and that was driving him nuts. All he could think about was his servant's unusual behavior. How she always bows to him every time they bump into each other, always avoiding his eye. Or addressing him as 'Master'. Sometimes, <em>both<em>.

He _should_ be glad that she's finally acting as a servant but…it was something he just can't get used to or found annoying. She being an addition to his servants indeed made things interesting, _far_ too interesting for him to think about a mere pawn so much.

Massaging his temples wearily, he stood up and walked over to the doors. Pulling open the doors with a sigh, he was out.

His arm dropped back to his side as he strolled away from his study, looking out of the windows as he moved down the hallway. He turned to round a corner, yelled in surprise when a flash of red suddenly appeared out from the other side and collided into him, sending him down. He heard it gave out a cry of surprise and next, he found himself staring up at a pair of ice blue eyes.

He saw shock flashed in them; an emotion that was now held in his. He then heard a curse and that was all before the weight on him was lifted off him.

Ciel quickly scrambled to his feet. "Blancbaston?" His eye widened in surprise at the person before him.

He frowned when she-in response-bowed to him. Like always ever since that day.

"I apologize, Master." She said quietly and brushed past him.

"Stop." He grabbed her arm which caused her stopped. "Turn around." He ordered, eye fixated on her head.

But she stood there, unmoving.

"Turn. Around." He ordered again.

Instead, she snatched her arm out of his grasp. "Excuse me." She said, continuing her way down the hallway.

Ciel watched after her in disbelief and bewilderment. Fingers curled up into fists at his sides, he watched her red long ponytail swayed as she walked down. His jaw clenched. He had enough.

He tore down the hallway after her, anger pulsing through him as he got closer and closer. A grab of her wrist, he threw her against the wall.

Shock etched on her face. "What…" She eyed him with widened eyes.

"Stop." He growled. "Stop. It." He said, breathing fast with anger and annoyance.

Her face fell. "Stop? Stop what?" She said with an unreadable look. "What are you talking about? I apologize, Master. I don't understand. "She gave an airy laugh, about to move to the side in attempt to step pass him.

He slammed a hand on the wall beside her when he realized what she was going to do. "Drop the act, Blancbaston! You know what I'm talking about!" He spoke again when she was about to retort. "Stop acting like that!"

"Like what?" She threw him a puzzled look.

"A proper servant!"

Silence.

She laughed. "Of course, I act like one. I am one afterall!"

"No, you don't and you're not." He glared at her. "Enough acting like one, it's annoying!"

"What are you talking about-"

"If you don't, I'll make sure you really just become a maid, no more a bodyguard." The hand on the wall beside her head curled up into a fist.

For a moment, the girl stiffened at that.

"What's wrong with you?" She burst out with a furious glare. "I'm acting like a servant _like_ I should have since the start. So, why the fuck are you being so annoyed about that!" She spat. "Isn't I already not one?" She couldn't stop herself. So much for being a respectful servant! Despite herself, words kept flying out of her mouth, as though her mouth had a life of its own.

Her ranting grew louder and the next thing she knew, she was yelling.

"…why can't you just leave me to be! Just leave me-"

"Enough."

"Too bad! I'm not going to shut up! You-"

SMACK!

Ciel stared wide eye at her before glancing down at his hand, staring shocked at it. Did he just…

Shock faltered into neutral. He took a step back away from her and glanced up with an unreadable look to see her still staring shock at him. "Get on with your things." He said quietly and strolling away from her, heading towards his study.

He stared at his hand. He could still feel the sting at his palm from that slap, just like the guilt he's feeling.

"I HATE YOU, PHANTOMHIVE!"  
>Ciel merely continued walking and finally turned into his study. Shutting the doors behind him, he walked over to his desk with a sigh.<p>

"At least you're back." He said bitterly to himself as he plopped down on the chair.

**…..**

* * *

><p>She sighed heavily as she jogged her way round to the front of the manor once again.<p>

_Third round completed, now to the fourth._

What's wrong with her? Why was she feeling so angry just now? And why was she even angry at the first place?

Growling in frustration, she picked up her pace and sped her way around another corner.

**….**

* * *

><p>The rustling of the leaves, the tree shook when a pair of brown boots landed heavily on one of its sturdy branches. Their owner crouching with a knee on it, his amethyst eyes roamed the estate laid out below him.<p>

"Phantomhive…" He said to himself when he confirmed that he was in the right location.

His dirty blond hair swayed in the gentle breeze that blew at him, his eyes continued to roam the land. Quite a majestic-looking manor, he must admit to himself. That Phantomhive boy has kept it well or perhaps rather his butler…

A speck of red caught his eyes. He fixated his eyes on it to see it was a human. Or more particularly a girl…jogging.

His eyes narrowed.

She looked kind of familiar….

**…..**

* * *

><p>Sebastian watched the white flour continued pouring out from its package like a small waterfall into the batter in the mixing bowl. Reaching for the spoon, he was about to start stirring when he suddenly froze. He then glanced out of the windows with narrowed eyes.<p>

Wordlessly, he placed the spoon back down and strolled over to wash his hands. He dried them and pulled his rolled-up sleeves back to their original length.

Sebastian snatched up his tailcoat; he slid his arms into its sleeves as he exited the kitchen.

**….**

* * *

><p>"Sebastian!" Estella cried out in surprise. She swore that she saw nobody at the front and the next minute before she knew, Sebastian's there.<p>

Coming to a stop, she blinked numbly at him. "What is it, Sebastian…? I'm not done yet, there are still five rounds to go."

"You can stop the run now. Head back in."

She frowned. "Why…?"

"Just go." Sebastian said. "Head off to dust the books in the study."

She stiffened. See Phantomhive again…?

"Go."

"Right…" She started towards the doors grudgingly.

Sebastian watched her pull opened a side of it and disappeared behind it. He then stood there unmoving. In a blink of an eye, he was gone.

**…..**

* * *

><p>A small 'thud' had the male snapping over to him. Sebastian gave a quick study of him. A male that looked about his master's age, crouched on a knee. Messy dirty blond hair and amethyst eyes. He couldn't see his full height though, but not that he care anyway. A glance down the tree with a raised eyebrow, its height led him to wonder how this human got up here because they're on a rather tall tree. Climbing? No, he looks too clean.<p>

"What's your business here?" Sebastian asked, eying the grimace on the male's face.

But the boy didn't answer him.

"_Demon_!" He spat in disgust, and that was all before he took off; jumping from branches to branches to where he came from, rather speedily like a ninja.

Now, that, at least answered an unspoken question of his. So it's not climbing?

Sebastian stared after the boy, watching as he grew smaller and smaller.

His eyes then narrowed.

He realized that the boy smelled rather…odd. Similar to Estella's but yet not. He just couldn't figure what. But one thing he was sure about was that the boy was definitely not what he can call a 'human'…At least, not an ordinary one.

**...**

* * *

><p>"Blancbaston. Sit down."<p>

Estella stared back at him. She still couldn't forget the slap. Should she just ignore him and start her chore?

With a sigh, she made her way to the chair and sat down wordlessly.

Ciel heaved a sigh. "Okay, I don't slap my servants." _Except for Sebastian._ He cleared his throat. "For that, I…I…apologize for that. "

And that, they lapsed into silence.

She finally nodded. "Right. Sorry for yelling too."

He nodded back. She's just a servant, a pawn. He knew he shouldn't care to apologize or whether she accept his apology, but the guilt was getting to him, making him think too much about the slap was driving him nuts.

"Master."

Ciel was startled by how she addressed him but didn't show it, still not used to it. He couldn't help but felt like asking her to just call him 'Phantomhive' instead because 'Master' to him from her was just…weird to his ears.

"What is it…?"

"Your parents, I'm curious…"

Ciel stiffened. "What about them?"

"Was it the Phantomhive Tragedy I heard of?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes." He frowned. "I don't want to talk about that." He said firmly.

"Why not?" Her eyes softened."I think we're kinda similar. There's nothing to keep from each other about our stories, you know. "

"I know."

Estella stared at him. She could clearly understand why he was like that. The urge to know more about his past was already there quite a while ago, but she didn't know why she had to bring it up now though.

"Tell me when you're ready." She merely said.

Ciel eyed her at that. He gave a hesitant nod. "Maybe…"

They once again lapsed into silence.

Ciel finally then spoke. "We're heading out at six, go and prepare yourself now."

"I'm going too?" Surprise passed her face."You mean I'm _still_ a bodyguard?"

He frowned. "When are you not one? I didn't say anything about you not being one."

A small relieved smile broke across her face; she shot out from the chair. "Alright. I shall go prepare now, Phantomhive!" Jogging up to the doors, they closed shut as she disappeared behind it.

Ciel stared at the doors and shook his head.

_So it's 'Phantomhive' again, huh…?_

Picking up his pen, he continued his paperwork- this time- freed of the guilt, and now with relief and a little amusement. Staring down at the papers, a tiny smile crept across his face.

**…..**

* * *

><p>His eye drifted away from the night sky from the outside to the other occupants. First to Estella opposite him who was staring out of the window and to Sebastian beside him before to the sky outside again. It narrowed at thought of the intruder that Sebastian reported to him earlier. A scent similar to Blancbaston's…? Not demonic, Sebastian said. Then what?<p>

Ciel knew that there was a chance of finding the answer when they reached the destination. There was one person who has more chances of knowing than anyone else, and that was the Undertaker. To obtain information about SIGMA and the intruder was his priority of tonight.

"Where are we going?"

Ciel turned to Estella. "To the Under-"

A wild jerk of the carriage cut him off. "What was that?" He asked to no one when the carriage finally calmed. He watched Sebastian pushed opened the door and stepped out. Estella did so too.

With a sigh, he got up from the seat and out too.

**…..**

* * *

><p>I glanced past Sebastian and saw a figure of almost all red on the front of the carriage, holding our unconscious carriage man by his collars with black gloved hands. A woman? A man? I squinted my eyes at the womanman, I couldn't tell. Long red hair, red high heels and a rather slim figure. The face? I couldn't see clearly. A woman, I guess.

Wrong.

The person spoke to the unconscious man with a male voice, still not aware of their presence. "Not as handsome as my…"The person finally glanced over at us.

Surprised passed his face, mainly on the butler in front of me. "SEBAS-CHAN~!" He dropped the poor guy and leaped toward us. A glance at the face, I swear I could practically see hearts in his creepy yellow-green eyes. Yep, definitely a man.

Watching as the red head flew towards us, my eyes widened in surprise when Sebastian abruptly moved off to the side. Turning back to the red head, I was about to do the same but it was too late.

So, no thanks to Sebastian, I fell back on the ground and found myself staring up at a mouth of _really_ sharp-looking teeth.

**...**

* * *

><p><strong>-<strong>_**End of Chapter-**_


	21. Stranger Danger

**Chapter 20**

* * *

><p>Her eyes drifted up to find herself staring up at a pair of green that were too bright for eyes, through the lenses of a red glasses.<p>

"Who are you?"

A flash of surprise in them was all before they narrowed at her, looking menacingly down at her. The male flipped his hair haughtily. "Grell Sutcliff, the most beautiful shinigami of all!"

"Now, Sebas-chan…" His red long hair slapping against the side of her face when he abruptly snapped his head over to Sebastian had her cringing away from the dangling hair. "…WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THIS WOMAN?" She winced at the outburst.

Her eyebrows furrowed into an annoyed glare. A tap on his arm had Grell turning back to her again. "Mind you…Are you trying to make me _deaf_?" She asked with an incredulous look. "Get off, will you?"

A stare at her, he pouted. "Hmph. Not like you're _that_ comfortable to sit on anyway." Immediately after he got off, he spun to Sebastian with a hurt look. "Sebas-chan! How can you do this to me? Got another red head to replace me?" Dramatic tears welling up in his eyes as he leaped towards Sebastian, throwing his arms open. "My dear Sebas-chan! What have beautiful Grell ever done to you?"

Estella grimaced when Grell landed hard on the spot where the butler supposedly stood. Sebastian just stood there, staring down at the red head with irk on his face. "You assaulted our carriage man, wasted our time and won't stop with your antics." He said, ticking off monotonously.

The red head leaped up and grabbed Sebastian by his shoulders, shaking him. "We loved each other! We even planned to have five kids! How can you…say that?" He said tearfully.

Watching the scene with a raised eyebrow, she turned to Ciel who was staring at the duo with disgust, his eye particularly on the red head. He turned to her when she uttered for his attention. "What?"

"They planned to have _five kids_? Isn't that person_ a_ _male_?" She whispered, eyes still fixed on Sebastian and Grell.

"He is. That idiot is just very annoyingly infatuated with that stupid demon…I meant _butler_." Ciel cleared his throat, cussing inwardly at himself for his slip." By the way, why are you whispering…?" He frowned.

"Well…" She shrugged. "…I don't know."

She winced when Sebastian sent Grell flying into the trees behind them, feeling a little sympathy for the red head.

"Sebastian." Ciel behind her started the moment the said butler stopped in front of them."Get Mr. Albert into the carriage with us. You take the front." He ordered.

A bow from Sebastian was all before Ciel strolled towards the carriage door and disappeared into the carriage.

Estella turned back once again to Sebastian after watching her master disappear into the carriage. "Need help with that man?" She gestured at their unconscious carriage man who lay sprawled on the ground.

Sebastian shook his head. "Just head in."

"Alright then." With a nod, she turned to join Ciel.

**…..**

* * *

><p>A soft slam of the door had Estella turning away from the window to see Sebastian taking a seat beside Ciel who too turned to the sound.<p>

Sebastian explained the moment he saw their confused frown. "Mr. Albert has awakened."

As if on cue, a jerk that came from the carriage under them was all before the vehicle started moving again.

'What a waste of time…" Ciel leaned back with a sigh.

A yawn from Estella, the carriage fell into silence.

**…..**

* * *

><p>"Sebastian. Get in there and do what you have to do." Ciel said the moment they got out of the carriage.<p>

The said butler nodded. "Of course." He pulled opened the door and entered the shop, disappearing behind the closing door.

Estella glanced up at the shop banner above them. "The Undertaker…" She read out. She turned to Ciel beside her. "Why are we getting information from an _Undertaker_?"

"He knows things." Ciel said curtly with his eye fixated on the door, waiting for Sebastian to get his assigned task done.

"Then…why aren't we going into the shop with Sebastian?"

Ciel was about to reply when a fit of laughter cut in from the other side of the door. "Oh…? He's done."

"What…?" Estella frowned, confused.

She turned to the door when it swung opened. Sebastian stood at the doorway with a serene smile. "Come in."

**…..**

* * *

><p>Coffins, coffins, and coffins. Stacks of coffins were the first thing that greeted her the moment she stepped into the shop. Obviously something like this was a common sight to see in an Undertaker shop, but she was still surprised, never have she stepped into one.<p>

Glancing over at a skeleton- thankfully fake- that stood a few feet away from her, she turned back to the front to Ciel and Sebastian approach a chuckling grey long haired person. Frowning as she inwardly debated with herself on the gender of the person. A man, she figured from the deep chuckle.

"Undertaker, enough laughing. Don't waste my time." She heard Ciel say to the person when she joined them. She glanced over at the Undertaker, surprised to find her staring a fringe of thick gray, his eyes were hidden. Her eyes flicked down to the very visible scars on his face and neck. She spotted another scar on his left pinky finger when his long sleeve fell back as he brought up his hand to the creepy wide smile on his face.

"Yes, yes. Earl…." The Undertaker spoke with a husky drawl as he did it. "I see you brought something interesting with you…." He gestured at Estella who gave him a strange look. "She has a unique scent, doesn't she?" He turned back to Ciel.

"_What_? Wha-What do you mean by 'unique scent'?" Estella frowned, hastily sniffing at herself. _Do I smell?_

But there was no odor; the smell of the lavender soup she used to wash herself before they set out, was all that lingered on her body.

The Undertaker chuckled, amused at her antic. He turned to all. "Tea for anyone?"

When no one took that offer, she languidly raised up an arm. "Me."

"Tea? I thought you hate drinking tea?" Ciel turned to her with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, but I don't care. I'm feeling damn thirsty now."

Ciel shrugged nonchalantly. "Still, I wouldn't ask one from him if I were you."

"Why?"

They turned back to the Undertaker when he returned with a cup of hot tea and put it down on the lid of the nearest coffin. He then gestured at the opened sugar bowl in his hand. "Sugar for you, miss?"

She nodded. "A bit will do."

"Alright."

Her eyes widened in horror when the Undertaker grabbed a handful of sugar cubes and threw it into the cup, having the tea spilling out. "That's too much! Does that seem like _a bit_ to you?" She glanced up at him with an incredulous frown.

"Yep!" The Undertaker said cheerfully, hopping away.

Gaping at the man, she eyed the brewing tea on the coffin with a grimace. "Well, at least, I think I know why now..." She nodded numbly at the tea.

**….**

* * *

><p>Ciel ran the information they retrieved from the Undertaker through his mind the moment they were back in the carriage and was on the way back to the manor.<p>

The Undertaker told them that he heard strange things going on in the Black Market. There was a large bulk of ordered by a single customer; the item of purchase was kept so confidential that _even_ the Undertaker does not know what that large bulk was.

There was no information on the intruder though.

And that led to the need to focus on their successfully obtained information about that mysterious customer. Extra information on the description of the customer and when he was going to return for the collection of his items which was two weeks away, given to them was all they need before they head down to visit the Black Market themselves to find out what was that large bulk and its purchaser.

A possible link to SIGMA was all he could think about.

Ciel heaved a sigh and slumped back on the backrest behind. A trip down to the Black Market was as good as walking into a lion's den. They will have to be ready. Even though with his demon butler accompanying them, it was still unnerving to know that they were going to enter the Underworld.

An image of Grell flashing past in his mind had him grimacing. The scowl on his face faltered as quickly as it came.

_Annoying but somehow useful…._

He stifled a yawn and stared tiredly out at the night sky, a mere thought of that red-haired shinigami sounded so annoyingly loud for his tired mind to think about. He could save the planning for other days; two weeks was plenty to form one.

**….**

* * *

><p>Watching as the carriage trudged its way down to the busy street, she glanced over at the second-hand bookstore which she finally managed to persuade her master drop her off, sparing her from another visit to the Undertaker. Thank god.<p>

The way the Undertaker kept smiling that creepy smile at her yesterday was unnerving. His remark of her having an 'unique' scent was just plain weird. Even though his eyes were hidden, she could feel him studying her, like a mad scientist to a specimen.  
>Even after-<p>

The familiar smell of books hit her the moment she stepped into the second-hand bookstore, broke into her thoughts. A chime from the tiny bell sounded throughout the store as the door swung back shut, but she didn't hear it as she stared in awe at the shelves which were full of books. Strolling down towards the shelves, she came to stop in front of one.

Detective novels, her favorite.

Estella ran her fingers across the books, ghosting over their spines. Why didn't books like this exist in the Phantomhive manor?

She has always been fond of books. However, recently she developed to hate the ones back in the manor- they were so _boooring_. The fact that they were the ones she had to dust thrice a week made her contributed to the hatred.

Financial, business, economic... Basically a library and shelves of super boring non-fictional books were all her master owned. There was nothing, not a single book that was a read for people of their age.

But again, she can clearly understand why. Darkness had left a big hole in his life that can never be mended again, ripped of his childhood and adolescence. He was practically an adult in a teenager's body.

She jolted out from her thoughts when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning at that, surprise passed her face.

A male with messy brown hair in a button-down shirt and black trousers who looked about her age, eyed somewhat amused at her. She noticed the perfectly arched eyebrow on his handsome face, reminding her of Sebastian right away. She frowned when her eyes drifted down from that perfectly arched eyebrow and found a pair of amethyst eyes staring back at her.

Realizing she was staring, her eyes flicked to the books and back to him once again when he chuckled. "I have never seen people gaping at books before. Overwhelmed by the number of books here?" He mused.

Her eyes widened. _I was gaping?_

Nodding at him, an awkward smile crept across her face. "Erm…Yeah, kind of. This is quite a sight." She gestured at the shelves around them.

He nodded, dragging his eyes away from the shelves she gestured at, to her. "I'm a regular customer. So if you need recommendations for the books here, I'm your man." He grinned, slapping his chest.

Blushing when she noticed how that grin just seemed adorned his handsome face, she smiled shyly at him. "That will be great. I would like some now."

"Right away, miss!" He winked, spinning towards the shelf beside them. His eyes skimmed across the spine of the books and finally came to stop at a black one. He slid it out and handed it to her.

"_Angels and Demons_?" She glanced up from the book.

He eyed the book in her hands with a smile. "Yep. I hope you don't mind reading paranormal because that's a very good book to read."

Estella shook her head. "Oh, not at all." She smiled back. "Thanks." She then glanced past him and spotted a familiar carriage waiting outside the store, through the windows.

_Phantomhive's finally here._

She turned to the male to see him about to turn to find out what she was looking at. However, before he could even identify that object, he turned back to her when she spoke. "Sorry, I gotta go now." She smiled apologetically.

"Oh…" The smile on his face faltered but then his face quickly brightened again with a grin. "Alright. I'm planning to work here. So when you come back next time, I'll recommend more books to you, yeah?"

"I will try." Her eyes dropped to the book in her hands before flicking up to him again. Estella extended the book towards him. "I guess I'll give this back first. I'll buy it when I visit again. Thanks."

He shook his head. "No, take it. I'll pay it for you. As a gift from a new friend."

"But…" She sighed when he shook his head stubbornly. "Alright. Thank you, erm…what's your name?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot!" He smacked his forehead. A sheepish grin appeared on his face. "Brandon Christensen."

That grin on his face had her grinning too. "Estella Blancbaston."

A flash of recognition in his amethyst eyes disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "Oh. Cool name." He nodded knowingly.

"Thanks, yours too. Anyway, I shall leave now." She said, starting to turn away. "See you, Brandon. It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah. See you too." A smile from Brandon was all before she started her way towards the door.

"By the way, thanks for the book!" She yelled over her shoulder.

"Sure!"

The chime of the tiny bell at the door was all he had in returned when she opened it and walked out, the door swung shut with another chime.

Through the window, Brandon quietly watched the girl greet a man clad in black who said a few words to her before pulling the carriage door opened. The man shut the door after the girl was in, and turned. A brief eye contact with him, the man broke the contact when he started off towards the horses at the front.

A jerk of the whole carriage was all before it started moving.

"_Angels and Demons_, eh….? His eyes flashed dangerously as he watched the carriage trudged off and disappeared from sight.

"Well," A lopsided smirk slowly crept its way across his face, "Enjoy that book, Estella Blancbaston…."

He let out a dark chuckle.

**...**

* * *

><p><strong>-<strong>_**End of Chapter-**_


	22. His Folly

**Chapter 21**

* * *

><p>There was none she liked from the enormous collection of books in front of her; being really boring books were not much of a help making her chore any more pleasant. A wipe of the wet cloth across its cover, Estella slid the book back to the shelf with a contented sigh before turning away from it to once again be met with the familiar sight of the study. She turned to the silent male at his desk to find him staring very intently at a paper which was held in a hand.<p>

"I'm done."

His eye flicked up from the paper and to her at that. He nodded. "Move on to the next one then." He waved dismissively at her, turning back to the paper.

Estella snorted with an incredulous frown on her face. "Can you have some sympathy for me?" Ciel glanced up at her with a raised eyebrow. "My back is breaking from cleaning your stupid damn boooooooring books for like almost two hours. It always these books. Isn't there anything that's _actually_ interesting to read from these shelves or even this manor?"

"It's your job to _clean_, not to _read_." Ciel stated dryly, eye still fixated on the paper.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, at least-"

The doors swinging opened had them both turning to see Elizabeth skipping in.

Ciel straightened up in surprise at her unexpected arrival. "Elizabeth!"

"Ciel! Ciel! Let's have a Winter Ball on Friday night!" She chirped, skipping her way towards him.

"What?" An incredulous frown at her, he shook his head. "No."

"Please?" She pouted. "It'll be so fun!"

Estella sighed when the male gave Elizabeth another stubborn 'no'.

She rolled her eyes at him. He seriously needs to get a life.

"Just let her do it." Elizabeth turned to her in surprise, finally aware of her presence. "Besides…Your birthday is nearing, isn't it?"

"Like what she said! Let me do it! This ball can be an early birthday celebration for you too! Just gets this ball going and over, I promise that there won't be any ball on your birthday!" Elizabeth said, nodding at him. "Please…?"

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "Really? There will be none on my birthday if I allow this ball to take place?"

"Promise!"

He let out a resigned sigh. "Fine."

"Thank you, Ciel!" Elizabeth ran around the desk to him and pulled him into a hug.

Estella strolled forward. "Lady Elizabeth."

The said female glanced over at her with a questioning look at that, releasing Ciel.

"I can help you with the preparation if you want." Estella offered with a shrug.

"Oh! That's great!" Elizabeth clapped her hands in delight.

Ciel glanced over at his fiance at that. "There's no need, Elizabeth." He said, letting the pen in his hand drop. "Just tell Sebastian how you want the manor to be and he will get the job done."

"I better head over to him now!" She nodded at him and waltzed over to the door but abruptly stopped when she was only four steps away from it. She turned to Estella with an excited smile. "You can invite your friends along too! "

Ciel raised an eyebrow at that. "Don't bother, Elizabeth. She doesn't have any." He said flatly.

"Oh…" Elizabeth's face fell at that but went unnoticed by Estella who was staring at the male with an annoyed look.

Estella folded her arms across her chest. "Who says?" She asked heatedly with an image of Brandon in her head. She ignored the skeptical look Ciel had on his face, turning away to his fiance with a smile. "I will, Lady Elizabeth." She said, bowing to the female.

"Good!" Elizabeth cheered and made her way out of the study. "Oh, this is so exciting!" A squeal from her was all before she disappeared from view.

Movements caught through the side of her eyes had her turning back to Ciel to see him standing at the window, staring out.

She strolled over to the window and stood beside him. Ciel continued staring out of the window, not a glance spared at her. She too stared out. She could feel the coolness emitting from the glass before her. Snow continued falling, making the things outside white to the extent that they could not be any more whiter.

Estella turned to Ciel who was still staring out. She frowned at the vacant look in his eye. A look that was too painfully familiar and an emotion in it that seemed like sadness but yet, also not. An emotion that she could not place her finger on, something that was so deep and unreadable. She shook the prickling sensation of chills running down her spine away. "Hey…"

His head snapped over to her, surprised to find her beside him. She continued. "Sebastian told me to prepare your tea today, so…which tea do you want to drink?"

A blink at her, he composed himself. His eye went back to being guarded and void once again. "Earl Grey. Don't make the tea yet, I'll have it later."

"Alright…" She nodded slowly. "Then…. I'll go take a break first since I have no more chores. I'll come back in an hour and a half with your tea." She said, turning away from the window.

"Wait."

Estella stopped in her tracks and turned back to him with a questioning look. "What?"

"Come here." He gestured her over.

She walked back to him and stopped beside him to see him looking out of the window, eye fixated on something below. With a puzzled look, she too looked out. Her face fell at an instant when she realized what he was looking at. The path Elizabeth's carriage was parked on- to her annoyance- was covered with snow once again.

The thought of the exhausting time she had clearing the path of those damn annoying snow in the morning, she groaned. She turned to Ciel to see him now staring at her expectantly; it was clear as day that he wanted her to do it again.

Estella shook her head at him. "No. Freaking. Way."

"This is an order. Clear the path now."

Her eyes narrowed defiantly at him. "No."

He said nothing, but just continued eying her heatedly.

A groan at the look on his face, she gave in and let out a sigh. "Fine."

**…..**

* * *

><p>Cold.<p>

She tucked a loose strand behind her ear before stabbing the shovel into the snow. Her breath came out in thin wisps as she breathed out heavily, heaving a pile of snow up with the shovel. She could feel her muscles protesting as she struggled her way to the huge pile of snow she gathered at the side and dumped the pile on the shovel onto it. Cold and tired, she has already been doing this for twenty minutes.

Squeals and bubbly chatters had her turning. Side by side, Elizabeth and Ciel were making their way down the steps with Paula trailing behind them. Elizabeth was engaging in a nearly one-sided conversation with Ciel who did not looked very engaged- nodding and replying curtly to her chatter. Shrugging, she turned back to the snow, lifting another pile of it to the side.

"Stop calling me Elizabeth! It's Lizzy!" She heard Elizabeth exclaim and a mumble of words she couldn't hear from Ciel in return.

From the side of her eyes, she could see that they were walking towards the carriage.

Her eyes narrowed at the snow at her feet.

Invite Brandon to the ball, huh… Would Brandon actually come if she invited him? Speaking of Brandon, she still hasn't read that _Angels and Demons_ book he gave her last week; something just made her felt like not doing so. It just reminded her of the demon blood experiment SIGMA performed on her. Every time she touch or even just a glance at it, there will always be this strange prickling feeling. It made her even more reluctant to read that book.

"Estella!" A yell broke into her thoughts.

She turned to see Elizabeth waving at her. She tilted her head in question at the female. "Yes, Lady Elizabeth?"

"I'll help you with the make-up and hair before the ball!" Elizabeth chirped.

A thought back to the time of the Trancy ball when the female did the same for her, she was about to decline but stopped when she saw that Elizabeth has already disappeared into the carriage.

"Bye, Estella!" Paula called out to her before she too climbed aboard.

Ciel stood unmoving as the carriage started to move, watching it go. He sighed, not aware of how Estella was grinning slyly at him.

A lot of things had been going on in his mind. Most revolved around SIGMA. Under the Queen's order, it was his task to rid of that organization. But how? So what if he did find out what were the things they purchased from the Black Market? Let the purchaser lead them into the heart of that organization? It's so obvious that he should do that yet extremely dangerous even if he have Sebastian with him. It was unknown what SIGMA has behind its doors. They-

He jerked upright in surprise when something shockingly cold hit him at the side of his face. Wet coldness slid down his face, he turned to find Estella smirking at him.

His eyebrows furrowed into a glare. "Blancbaston!" He growled.

Instead, she threw another, this time, hitting his chest. She rolled her eyes at her. "C'mon! When there's snow, play with it!" When she saw Ciel stood there unmoving with a stony stare at her, she sighed exasperatedly." Why are you always so serious? You are as boring as your books! Get a life!"

She sent another ball of snow at him and cheered when it hit him squarely at the face.

"Hey, stop that!" Ciel yelled, wiping the snow off his face to reveal a furious look

"Get back at me! Don't just stand there!" She yelled over in return to his furious look. She slapped her forehead, rolling her eyes exasperatedly at him. "God, you're such a sissy!"

Ciel's eye twitched at that. "What did you just call me?"

"A sissy~" She said airily. "A sissy who is scared to participate in a snowball fight." She- to his annoyance- stuck out her tongue at him.

She smirked when she saw that he was bending down, gathering the snow at his feet. Before she could even bend down to gather her own, a ball of snow flew at her and landed at her shoulder. "I'm _not_." He growled.

Everything happened so quickly.

Ciel, unintentionally, got himself in a snowball fight with her. All he wanted to do was send over a ball of snow as revenge for the three snowballs she shot at him and return to his study to continue his paperwork, but instead, he found himself immersed in this snowball fight. Furthermore, enjoying it. They were throwing snow at each other, dodging each other's incoming ones. There was only one thing running through his mind and that was to make sure he hit her.

Feeling so free and alive was a first for him. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed how the red blush on her cheeks adorned her face. He knew that it was not because of him, it was the coldness. That jumpy feeling inside him felt so strange. Why was he feeling like this? Weird.

"Looks like Master's not a sissy afterall!" Estella yelled over and burst into laughter.

Ciel who was about to throw the snow he gathered in his hand, froze the instant those words flew out from her mouth. He then suddenly remembered that _he_ was the master and _she_ was the servant. What on earth was he doing? Playing with a servant? This was so wrong of him to behave like this. The gathered snow in his hand fell out when he lowered his arm. He cussed inwardly at himself.

He glanced up with a serious look but only to be hit squarely in the face by another snowball. Wiping the snow off his face indifferently, he glanced over at her with a pointed look. "Enough, you idiot. Playing are for kids." He said, suddenly turning his back to her. He started towards the manor.

"Huh?" Surprise passed her face, taken back by his sudden change of attitude.

"Continue with your chore. After that, head over to my study with Earl Grey tea." Ciel called over his shoulder.

She watched him pulled open the door and disappeared into the manor, blinking owlishly.

The gathered snow in her hand slipping out, she stared dumbfounded at the door. "What the hell?"

**….**

* * *

><p>Finny with Bard and Meirin behind, rushed up to her the moment she stepped into the kitchen. All had awe and disbelief on their faces. "How did you get Master to play snowball fight with you?" They asked in unison the instant they reached her.<p>

"What?" She said, taking a step back in surprise at their question.

Estella jumped, startled when Meirin abruptly placed her hands on her shoulders. "We saw you two playing outside! It was unbelievable! He always refuses when we ask him to join us. _Even_ with Lady Elizabeth asking too!"

She turned when she felt a tug at her sleeve to find Finny eying her with envy. "Not fair! Finny wants to play with him too!" He pouted.

"You…" Bard narrowed his eyes with an eyebrow raised suggestively. "What did you do? Hmmm? "

"Nothing much. It's actually pretty easy to get that stubborn head to do it." She paused and gave out a nervous laugh when she noticed that all three were staring very intently at her. She cleared her throat. "Well…I insulted his manhood."

A pause when she noticed that all had shock written over their face, she continued despite them. "I called him a sissy."

There was an awkward silence the moment those words left her mouth.

"You did WHAT?"

An eyebrow rose at their outburst. "I called him a sissy."She shrugged again. "You guys should try that. It works." She nodded matter-of-factly at them.

They just stared at her as though she was crazy.

"Estella,"

A deep silky voice had them all turning to see Sebastian walking into the kitchen.

"Yes, Sebastian?" Estella asked, turning her back to the others.

"The tea." Sebastian eyed her with a pointed look.

"Oh, right." She strolled over to the cabinets at that and started making tea like how Sebastian taught her after he decided that she should be in charge of making and delivering teas to her master. After practices Sebastian made her go through, it took her only a minute to get the tea done. Throughout the process of making tea, she could hear the three telling the snowball fight she had with the master to Sebastian. She could feel Sebastian's stare on her.

Placing the teapot and cup onto a silver round tray, she carefully lifted the tray and exited the kitchen.

"She called Master a sissy!" She heard a voice that belonged to Finny exclaimed.

A sheepish look at that, she could hear no more when she round a corner.

**…..**

* * *

><p>"Here's your Earl Grey tea." She said, setting the tea on the desk.<p>

Estella watched him nod, letting go of the pen in his hand. He leaned back on the chair with a tired sigh and massaged his temples wearily before reaching out for a sip. For reasons unknown, something about those actions just made her stay. She watched silently as he set the cup down and went back to the paper in front of him.

She frowned at how tired he looked; it was as though he hasn't slept for days. Noticing the large pile of papers beside him, she felt sympathy for him. A sigh, she placed the tray down on the chair she was standing beside and wordlessly made her way round the desk.

Ciel stiffened in surprise when he felt something rest on his shoulders. He turned back and saw that it was Estella. He frowned in puzzlement. "What are you doing?"

"A massage." She merely said, starting to do what she told him.

He was about to protest but stopped. It felt good, he realized. She was very skillfully easing his shoulder of their stiffness, the pressure applied on them were slow and firm. He found himself closing his eye to it.

"Where did you learn this from?" He mumbled.

The hands on his shoulders shifted. "I learned this by myself. I used to do this for my parents."

"Not bad."

They lapsed into silence.

The sudden stop of the massage had him opening his eye to see her walking over to the chair opposite him. He watched her picked up the tray on it and frowned at a realization. "That's it?"

Estella glanced up at him, hooking the tray under an arm. "Yeah. I'm heading to town."

"Town? What for?"

"Invite my friend for the ball and to help Sebastian run an errand." She started towards the door and pulled it open.

An eyebrow rose. "You _actually_ have friends?

"Of course." With that, the door shut closed.

A finger tapping on the desk, Ciel eyed the door thoughtfully and quickly came to a decision.

Massaging him should definitely be added to her list of chores.

**…..**

* * *

><p>Winter Ball came fast. In fact, <em>too<em> fast for his liking.

Ciel stood on the stairs, observing the on-going ball from it. Most of his guests had arrived and Elizabeth was very enthusiastically attending to them. A distant crash had him glancing away from his fiance; a shake of head was his instant reaction to what he saw. There was Meirin, gaping in horror at the shattered pieces of the plates she broke. He sighed exasperatedly. Why was she so careless?

His eye came to fix on a duo from the dancing crowd and he scowled.

Brandon Christensen was who Estella introduced to him as before they went into dancing. For some reason unknown, it irked him how this male could turn his servant with such defiant character into a nervous wreck. Blushing and stuttering seemed so unlike her.

Before this ball started, she came out, he have to admit, dressed especially beautiful tonight. And he knew that it was for that friend she invited. She seemed so nervous when the entrance hall was starting to fill with guests, tensing up whenever a new arrival came. It was just…unbelievable. He couldn't tell what was the thing about the male that made her like this. The very good-looking face was his guess.

Ciel watched from the stairs as the two danced, Estella's dark purple dress spinning around her body as the male spun her around. He suddenly felt unease at the sight of her pink-tinted cheeks and nervous smile as she clumsily tried to match her steps with the male's once again when she completed the twirl. The girl, however, missed a step, nearly falling. But the male caught her effortlessly. The stunned look and red blush on the girl's face made Ciel's eye narrowed.

He sighed heavily. Why was he feeling so disturbed by that? How was it that this pawn was able to cause him these weird feelings?

Catching another glance at the duo, he turned away with a frown and made his way down the steps to join the ball.

He gave out a sigh.

"Annoying."

**...**

* * *

><p><strong>-<strong>_**End of Chapter-**_


	23. Darkness Becomes Her

**Chapter 22**

* * *

><p>"Want to take a break?" Brandon asked, spinning her around.<p>

Estella heaved a sigh of relief when she managed to complete the twirl, a little unsteady, but this time, without nearly falling. She offhandedly placed a hand on the male's chest to steady herself before glancing up.

"Sure," she said breathlessly, pink dusted her cheeks when she realized what it was on. She hastily placed it back onto his shoulder. Being so close to Brandon made her nervous. "I'm thirsty anyway," she smiled shyly at him.

"Let's go get you a drink," her heart skipped a beat at how his amethyst eyes glittered with tenderness at her.

Brandon led her through the dance floor, his big hand gripping gently and the same time, firmly onto her hand as he walked them out of the dancing group, entering the sides where other party guests were aimlessly standing around the refreshment tables.

Chatters and the soft metallic sound from the utensils greeted them as soon as they joined the rest.

It took her a while to realize that people were staring at them. No, she realized, _him_, not them.

Her eyes swiveled to the leading male in front.

There was something about the way Brandon Christensen walked that made heads of females and males turn. His stride was stable and graceful. An air of charisma radiated from him as he led them over to the refreshment tables.

"Do you think he'll dance with me?" Estella turned to that voice to realize it came from a female adolescent who was nudging at another female beside her excitedly.

His good looks too, she realized.

Her eyes swiveled back to Brandon, feeling a little uncomfortable from all the attention they were getting.

"For two, thank you," Brandon said to the person handling the punch.

Heat crept up her face when she realized that the person was Bard.

"Let's go out into the balcony over there after we drink, shall we?" Brandon turned to her, failing to see how Bard wagged his eyebrows suggestively at her with a wide grin.

Her eyes instantly flicked away from the grinning male to Brandon. "Alright," she said with a smile.

The grin and wagging eyebrows instantly fell into an impassive face the moment Brandon turned back, Bard quickly scooped up the pink liquid from the punch bowl and filled two glasses. "Here you go, sir," he passed them over to Brandon who uttered a 'thank you' in return.

"Thanks," Estella accepted a glass from him and drank, liking how the cool liquid was flowing down her throat. The dance with him sure made her thirsty.

Brandon was already returning the glass when she was finished with the punch.

"Thirsty," he shrugged with a smile when she shot him a raised eyebrow. The male reached for her hand and pulled them away from the table after her glass was returned.

Estella glanced down at their hands and yanked her hand out of his when she realized that they looked like a couple.

"Sorry, it's not very appropriate of a servant to be behaving like this in her master's party," she said with an apologetic look when Brandon glanced over in surprise at her action.

"Alright," he nodded at her understandingly, letting his arm drop to his side. "Come on," he walked in front to lead the way.

Estella stared at his back.

Why was she feeling disappointed that they were no longer holding hands? She know she don't like _like_ him. But if so, why did she felt so pulled to him? Why did she like it when he was so close, yet, at the same time, didn't when he was? She could still remember feeling the very faint displeasure in her when they were dancing; especially when he was holding her tightly against him. It was a mixture of emotion she just couldn't place a finger on.

Fits of laughter loud enough to penetrate through the music, brought her out from her inner turmoil and had her turning to it to find Finny and Meirin dancing clumsily at the dance floor.

She smiled them, amused at their antics.

A shake of head at the duo, she turned back to the front to find that they were entering the balcony, failing to notice that they were watched by a certain male.

**...**

* * *

><p>The music from inside gradually faded off as they strolled further away from the door, up to the edge of the balcony. They leaned onto the railing the moment they reached, they gazed out in silence.<p>

Estella let out a sigh, eyes roaming the compound in front of them.

Tonight was beautiful.

Two seas of snow which were supposedly the lawns looked magnificent under the moon. The driveway was decorated with hanging red and green bulbs, flashing brilliantly in the night; the strings of red and green light ended at the porch below. Even though it was not really Christmas right now, it still felt like it.

Goosebumps rose at an instant to the touch of the icy wind that blew past.

Beautiful night _but_ freaking cold.

She shuddered, cursing at her sleeveless dress that was completely useless against the wind. She continued cursing, this time, at the wind that kept coming.

"Here," Brandon slipped off his coat and went on to drape it over her shoulders despite seeing that she was about to protest. "Your lips are turning blue…" He turned to face her, frowning at her trembling lips.

"It-It's fine. Your coat is enough warm me up, thanks," she gave him a grateful smile.

He nodded mechanically. "No problem."

She turned back to the front, trying to reign over her shivers but it was not going very well. However, for one thing she did not fail in was that she could sense Brandon's stare burning down on her and it was getting rather uncomfortable.

Estella turned to the male and was taken back by how intently he was staring at her.

Particularly her lips, she realized, not her.

She frowned in concern at him. "What is it, Brandon? If there is something on my lips-"

The male suddenly tilting her head upwards had her stopping in mid-sentence. She had a puzzled look on her face.

Her eyes widened when she saw that he was leaning forward. Her heartbeat quickened at a realization. Those amethyst eyes of his were hazy with lust. That look was making her heart race. "What-What are you-"

"I...I think I know how to fix the problem…" He whispered against her lips.

"Hu-Huh? What problem..." Her heart sped up. How his lips were hovering dangerously close to them made her heart speed up even more, her heart was slamming against her ribcage like it has gone insane.

"Why...why do I feel so attracted to you...?" His voice cracked. He could hold no longer.

That was all before his lips met hers.

Her eyes widened at that contact. She stiffened, too stun to respond.

His lips pressed lightly against her unmoving ones, nudging for a respond. It took awhile before her lips started to respond to his, pressing back. Her eyes fluttered close to the feel of his lips as a sigh escaped from her lips.

The attraction she had for him drove her to accept this kiss, she couldn't control herself. Oh god, what was this?

Her arms, like they have minds of their own, traveled up to toy with his hair. Placing a hand on her cheek and the other on her lower back, he pressed his lips harder onto hers, eliciting a small gasp from her. He took this opportunity to glide his tongue pass her lips. He started to explore her mouth thoroughly, causing her to emit a moan. Her fists tightly clenched onto his button-down shirt, her body arched toward his in respond to the soft tingles of pleasure traipsing up and down her spine.

He felt so good.

But for unknown reason, she was starting to feel guilty. She flitted between pleasure and the guilt, too much to make sense of the situation. Why the guilt? This is her life; she got the right to kiss anyone she likes. But why was guilt coming like a bitch at a sudden image of Ciel Phantomhive?

The attraction just seemed to cease while guilt was becoming overwhelming.

It was too much.

She suddenly pulled away from his firm hold on her, breaking the kiss. The warmth on her lips gone, the touch of coldness once again had her jolting upright. She found herself breathless, panting away. Heat creeping up her face at what they'd just done.

"You okay…?" Brandon asked breathlessly, concern marred his handsome face. The widened eyes and pink on his cheeks, he was panting too.

"Yes-Yes…" she replied, refusing to meet his eyes. "Sorry, Brandon, I'm going in…" she spun on her heels, walking as fast as possible towards the door, ignoring his calls.

Slowing down when she was at the door, she reached up to her trembling lips. They were still tingling, reminding her of what just happened

A shake of head, she entered the manor.

**….**

* * *

><p>The party was too noisy for her to sort out and make sense of everything that happened. Outside seemed to be best place for her to be in, even though it was cold.<p>

Estella slipped out of the huge doors and shut them back closed. She turned to the front to see the scene she saw on the balcony except it was snowing now.

She watched little white bits falling down on her. A frown appeared on her face when she felt no touch of coldness like she expected to feel.

She glanced down and found Brandon's coat instead of her skin. Letting out a heavy sigh, she realized that things were too awkward for her to head back and return it to Brandon.

Another sigh, she lumbered forward and started down the stairs. Pulling the coat tighter around her when a harsh wind blew past, she reached the last step and landed on the driveway.

Brandon…

She froze at that thought. Something akin to fear fluttered in her stomach. She slowly turned, her eyes swiveling to the balcony above…to find nobody there. A breath she didn't know she was holding blew out at that. It would have been awkward if Brandon was still there.

A thought of him seeing her here when he comes back had her hurrying to the side where the forest stood surrounding the manor.

Hunching over to catch her breath, she glanced over to see that she was further enough not to be spotted. Over her shoulders, she quietly admired how majestic the manor looked with the golden light shining through its windows from the inside.

"Where do ya think ya going, gurl?"

A snark had her turning back to the front.

Her breath hitched.

"Finally, we got you. Boss will be _pleased_."

Another voice came, but, this time, from the direction she was looking at seconds ago.

She grew rigid. Fear fluttered in her stomach, similar to the fear she felt earlier but ten times stronger.

She was surrounded.

**….**

* * *

><p>First, he saw them went out into the balcony. About ten minutes later, he witnessed Estella coming back in alone, looking shaken. Minutes later, it was that Brandon guy.<p>

Ciel's eye narrowed.

Did something happen?

"Ciel!" He jolted out of his thoughts, vision focusing on Elizabeth in his arms once again. "What is it?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

She had a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Of course," he nodded.

Elizabeth frowned. Her fiance had his attention on her with his eye fixed on her, but the faraway look in it told her otherwise. Thrice he glanced over at a certain direction, and off he went, deep in thoughts. Thinking about what?

"Are _you_ okay?" Ciel asked.

The frown fell instantly; a smile broke across her face. She nodded cheerfully. "Why, of course!"

Ciel had never seen her frown like that before. She looked…scared. Scared of what?

"Oh my god, did you see them? Estella and Brandon looked so cute together!" Elizabeth exclaimed excitedly. This had Ciel letting go of the unspoken question when he saw that she was staring at him expectantly, waiting for him to agree.

Despite the little voice of disagreement which he couldn't figure the reason for it, he nodded impassively.

"They sure are," he said quietly.

He said no more, spinning Elizabeth around.

**….**

* * *

><p>The situation now had her wishing she was up there kissing Brandon than being out alone with the two men. Maybe if they continued the kiss, she wouldn't have got herself into this kind of situation.<p>

"Go. Away." Her eyes flashed dangerously, snapping her head to the man in front again. She quickly stepped to the side, to get two men within her field of vision. The second man who was behind when she was between them, strolled over to join the other.

She had a look at the both. Both looked like they were in their forties. The first was a balding fat man who had a huge scar on the side of his face while the other had a little more hair than the first. Their eyes held dangerous glints.

"Ya do not order us, gurl,"the first chuckled. "_We_ do dat. Ya will go with us."

"No way in hell, bastards!" She yelled with a nasty glare shot at them.

"Stubborn one." She heard the second muttered to the first.

Estella swallowed the lump in her throat, racking her brain for a solution. Run? She studied her surrounding. Difficult. Fight? Possible with what Sebastian taught her. Alright.

She slid into a stance with hands raised up in front of her and her legs spread out. "Okay, you two!" Her eyes glittered fiercely at them. It was this or nothing. "Get lost or feel the _hurt_!_"_

None of the men did anything; they stood there, exchanging looks of amusement. They turned back to her simultaneously.

A shadow of anger crossed her face at the looks of condescension on their faces. "Don't underestimate me! I'm warning you…! I'm a bodyguard, highly skilled in martial arts!"

"Funny," both slid into fighting stances. "So are _we_!"

They charged without warning.

She tensed, remembering every moves Sebastian taught her. Her eyes never left the incoming men.

A feminine-sounding dark chuckle out of nowhere broke into her focus. She scowled. There's another?

"_I'm here, stupid._"

"Huh?" Estella glanced around wildly to locate the voice. She turned back to the front when she found no one. "What the-"She panicked when she realized that the two men were nearing.

"_Forget it,"_a sigh again came out of nowhere.

Estella blinked at the sound. Why was she hearing-

Then the world suddenly spun. Her vision was blurred, starting to fade off; sound around her was starting to fade too. Her legs beneath her started to tremble and that was all before her knees buckled. She could feel herself falling forward, she wanted to stop the fall but her legs just wouldn't obey. She could hardly feel the impact or the coldness when she landed face-down on the snow, everything was going numb. She was desperately trying hold onto consciousness; it was difficult as she could feel herself slipping. What's happening to her? She struggled to keep herself from slipping but it was useless.

"_I'm taking over._"

That was the last thing she heard before she lost grip of her consciousness. Everything went black.

**…..**

* * *

><p>Yassen and Ian skidded to a stop when their target who was in a fighting stance, suddenly slackened and fell unconscious on the ground.<p>

"Fainted." Yassen commented matter-of-factly, eying the girl with a mocking lopsided smirk.

His partner chuckled. "Too scared that she fainted, I guess."

"This gurl sure talks big. Stupid!" He burst out laughing, his belly shaking to it.

Movement caught through the side of his eyes, Ian turned. Shock was his instant reaction.

Yassen stopped laughing, and turned to see what his partner was gaping at. He had the same reaction.

Their target that was supposedly lying on the ground unconscious rose to a squat. Her legs were spread wide apart- thank god for her long dress. Her hands were on the ground between her wide-spread legs, clenched up in a claw-like manner. It was a strange form of squatting. Resembled an animal or to be more specific, a four-legged animal.

Her strange stance somehow managed to instil fear into the men. Her head was down; the once nicely-made hair hung over it, messy and had bits of snow on them. They were silently glad they couldn't see her face.

The two stiffened when she suddenly gave out a chuckle. It sounded more mature than the voice they heard before she fainted. "I'm out. Finally _out_." A delighted sigh came from her. Her head was still down. "And what a luck, two souls to quench my hunger."

Ian and Yassen backed away fearfully at that. Whimpering as she slowly raised her head, they stopped breathing at what they saw.

Instead of those ice-blue eyes, red eyes stood in their places.

Those demonic and hunger-filled eyes bored hungrily into the trembling men. "Yummy," She licked her lower lips.

Their eyes widened in fear at that, their legs were shaking beneath them.

Her tongue drawn back into her mouth, she leaped forward.

They screamed.

**...**

* * *

><p><strong>-<strong>_**End of Chapter-**_


	24. Flames in the Cold

**Chapter 23**

* * *

><p>Elizabeth threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Ciel, for this ball!"<p>

Ciel patted her on her back. "Alright. Just promise me that there will not be another ball on Christmas."

Elizabeth pulled away with a pout which fell away into a laughing smile when he raised an eyebrow at her. "Of course, like I promised."

"Good," he nodded," You better get going before your brother comes after me. It's already very late," Ciel led her towards the opened door of her carriage home.

Elizabeth giggled. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Edward doesn't," she said with another laughing smile, "Good night, Ciel!" She pulled him into a hug before releasing him. "Let's go, Paula," she spun around to face the carriage behind her and climbed aboard.

Paula bowed to him."Good night, Earl."

"Ah," Ciel nodded.

A tiny smile at him, she entered the carriage and pulled its door towards her before she entirely disappeared out of sight behind it.

He watched the vehicle trudged off. He turned away with a sigh when it was finally out into the street and gone.

**...**

* * *

><p>His entrance hall almost emptied of his guests, greeted him when he proceeded back in.<p>

"It was a lovely party, Earl."

Ciel swivelled his head to the deep voice to see one of his guest and a woman who he noticed to be smiling at him, he didn't fail to catch the look of admiration on her face. However, it was something he didn't find new or pleasant. Instead, it gave him this twinge of annoyance. These people were just putting up these fronts for his wealth and that was so apparent.

"Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it," he nodded, with forcing a smile.

"Will there be a ball this coming Christmas?"

_Not a chance._

"Probably. You'll find out when I send out the invitations," Ciel said blandly.

"Gosh!" He snapped his head to the woman with a raised eyebrow as he watched her turn to the man. "He is one handsome young man, isn't he? So perfect for Anastasia!" she gushed.

The man nodded at her knowingly when she mouthed two words which Ciel recognized to look like 'ask him'. The man turned back to him, clearing his throat. "Anastasia is my daughter's name. I would like you to meet her one day. When are you free?"

He grew more annoyed. If it was not for his family name, he would have rolled his eyes at that question. "I already have a fiancé."

The couple exchanged looks before the man turned back to him with a sheepish look. He waved dismissively. "I...I didn't mean it that way, Earl..." A strained smile crept across his face. "I meant as...friends. You would probably taking a liking in Anastasia; she's a nice girl-"

"I apologize, but my hands are full," Ciel interrupted," Maybe when they're no longer," he shrugged offhandedly, "It's late now. Please take your leave, have a safe trip. Good night," he dismissed rudely.

"Dear," the man who was scowling upon hearing the blunt dismissal, turned to his wife," He must be tired from the party and the talking. I am too. Let's head home, shall we?" The woman nodded at Ciel who returned the gesture, feeling somewhat grateful towards her.

The scowl on the man's face fell into an understanding look. He looked apologetic when he turned back to Ciel." My apologises, Earl. It's time for all of us to hit the sack, eh? We shall leave now. Good night, Earl."

"Good night."

Ciel watched the couple walk off to the doors. He heaved a sigh, turning to see Sebastian escorting the last of his guests out of the manor. Who was left in the entrance hall were him, Sebastian, Finny, Meirin, Bard and...Wait, where was she?

He glanced around in search for the missing red-haired servant. He turned to Finny and Meirin with a frown. "Where's Blancbaston?"

Both shrugged with puzzled looks.

Bard who just came back from the refreshment table, caught his question and answered," I saw her went out into the balcony with that boyfriend of hers." The male narrowed his eyes at the direction of the balcony. "I wonder..." A sly smile crept across his face. Sebastian, who was approaching them, glanced over to where Bard was narrowing his eyes at. "...What are they doing out there?"

"He's not her boyfriend," Ciel without thought, bluntly said.

Noticing the raised eyebrow on Sebastian's face, it took him a while to realize how quick he was to correct his servant; even he was puzzled by his own action. However, it was clear that the title Bard gave the male was the one responsible for odd sensation in him. He just couldn't place a finger on it.

He softly cleared his throat, frowning. "Well...'a friend' was what she told me," he quickly added.

"There is no one in the balcony, Master!" Ciel glanced over to find Finny jogging over from the said place.

A scowl appeared and quickly faltered at the memory of witnessing the red-haired servant coming back in from the balcony earlier.

"Young Master," Sebastian called out, "I'll find her. While I'm at that, please turn in for the night. It's late-"

"Whoa. Where's everyone?" Sound of footsteps approached, echoing throughout the hall.

This had all heads turning to that voice.

Ciel's eyes narrowed at the newcomer. "Christensen, why are you still here? The party's over," He said to Brandon who gave him back a questioning look. The male didn't fail to catch the subtle hostility in his voice, so did Sebastian who eyed his master curiously. The three servants was apparently oblivious to it as they were busy taking their leave, saying tired goodnights to each other after they got their permission to.

Brandon, however, was completely unfazed by that hostility. "Right. Sorry, I was at the washroom. I shall take my leave now. Thanks for the invitation, Phantomhive. "

Ciel heaved an annoyed sigh. "I would prefer that you add an 'Earl' at the front," he said icily.

"Oh," Brandon frowned. "But Estella told me that there's no need-"

"That was her, not me," he snapped, meeting his eyes with a glare.

"Okay..." Brandon eyed the glare with a scowl."Why so pissed, Earl?"

As though he didn't ask that question, Ciel asked. "Speaking of which, where is that servant?"

"She went outside, I think..." The male shrugged and let out a yawn. "Need me to help you find her...?" He asked lazily, eyeing Ciel groggily.

"No need. Take your leave now, Christensen." Ciel said monotonously.

"Sure thing. Guess I'll go now..." Brandon shrugged, strolling past him.

Ciel watched his retreating back quietly, and couldn't help but notice that his walking pattern is similar to his butler.

"Dislike that boy, young master?" Sebastian mused.

Ciel gave him a glare. "No. Let's find that troublesome servant."

Sebastian watched his master wave dismissively at him.

Shuddering to the icy wind that greeted Ciel when he pulled open the door, a gesture at Sebastian had Sebastian strolling forward obligingly.

He watched his retreating back curiously.

_Why so concerned, Ciel Phantomhive?_

His eyes never left Ciel as they walked out.

**...**

* * *

><p>His eyes swiveled over to the dark patch that lay on the snowy ground a few feet away from the unconscious servant. Sebastian eyed the lumps curiously before turning back to his master was knelled down beside the girl.<p>

Ciel picked up the coat on her that was too big to be hers.

_Brandon's._

He gave it a look before carelessly flinging it to one side. He then reached over and flipped the girl over so she could lie on her back. Relieved to see the gentle rise and fall of her chest, Ciel heaved a sigh, "Idiot," he muttered, shaking his head disapprovingly at her pale face. "Sebastian," Ciel glanced up at the towering butler."Head in with her and tend to her. Leave me to investigate this. I'll prepare myself for bed tonight."

"Are you sure? It's not safe to stay out here alone," Sebastian frowned, "And it appears that you are very concern about Blancbaston," he stated matter-of-factly, eying him with a poker face.

"I'll be fine. And well, I am concern _because _it's my responsibility to take care of my servants as their master." Ciel glared, daring him continue.

An unreadable glint in Sebastian's eyes disappeared as quickly as they came; Sebastian bowed to him before bending down to pick up the servant. He straightened up with the girl now carried bridal style in his arms.

"I shall head in now. I'll be out to get you if you don't come back in five minutes."

Ciel gave him a curt nod. "Go now," He waved dismissively at him.

Seeing that Sebastian has started walking away, he made his way over to the dark patch.

As he got closer, he realized that it was a lump of unrecognizable object, not a patch. In fact, there were _two_ of them. Burning smell hit him like a slap the moment he stopped beside one.

_Fire..._

Ciel quickly took note that the lump was slightly powdery and greyish. He stepped closer to it when he noticed that there was something sticking out of it. Staring intently at it, he came to a gut-wrenching discovery.

_A ha-hand? What the..._

He paled_. _Gruesome thoughts had him turning away and walking off towards the manor.

His eyes narrowed.

_What happened, Blancbaston?_

**...**

* * *

><p>Surprisingly, thoughts of the burned bodies did not last long. Instead now, thoughts of the party- the Christensen male and his servant filled his mind as he stripped off his top. Ciel toss his top aside before dipping a hand into the bathtub to check that the water was lukewarm. Watching blankly as the tiny droplets of water fall from his fingers, curiosity grew.<p>

How was it that the Christensen male was able to make that loud and annoying servant go all shy and nervous?

He has been pondering over this for a while and it was getting on his nerve.

Ciel turned to the mirror behind and studied his half-naked self curiously.

His eyes roamed his face.

A smug smile appeared on it as he continued to study his face. Even with the Faustian contract mark on his right eye, he, Ciel Phantomhive, was no doubt handsome. And indeed, that was what many people told him.

However, despite this, why was it that Blancbaston act like this around Christensen, but not him?

Ciel gave himself an overall glance. He locked eyes with his reflection for a brief second before his eyes drifted to the rest of his reflection.

Puberty has done him well. He was a lot taller now, about the same or maybe a few inches shorter than the male. Standing at this height, his once scrawny shoulders was broader and stronger-looking.

However, the lean muscles on his arms were the only things he didn't obtain from puberty, but from his fiance's brother. Edward just had to stick that nose of his into his business or in other words, made his life a living hell by insisting that Sebastian should have some physical training planned for Ciel so that he could be strong enough to protect Elizabeth.

So thanks or no thanks to Edward, he has developed a stronger body.

Ciel glanced up to once again lock eyes with his reflection again, staring intently at himself. There were many questions forming in his head, about his servant's behavior and mainly thinking about the Christensen male was able to make her behave that way.

His reflection continued blinking back at him as he ran a hand through his hair, staring back blankly. He was starting to feel ridiculous having these useless thoughts.

The sound of the droplets of water dripping from the tap in a rhythmic manner that just seemed to mocking him was not making him feel any better.

Heaving a sigh, he shook his head at his reflection which mirrored the action back before turning away. "This is stupid."

**...**

* * *

><p>Full moon hung high up in the dark midnight sky. Under the mysterious glow of the celestial ball, silence hung heavily in the still air over the city of London. Lines of houses along its streets were all in quiet darkness as the whole city was in their slumber except for the apartment that laid somewhere in a dark far end of a certain street.<p>

Its windows were shattered from the intense heat of the scarlet fire within the apartment. The red-tinged air hovering around it was filled with the smell of burning. Even if the sleeping neighbors did wake up to the incredibly bad burning smell from this apartment, it was already too late to save its occupants who now laid dead and charred on the badly burnt floor and furthermore, to even catch the culprit.

Somewhere at the top of the Big Ben, the lone person sat on its edge, high up away from the rest of the city. The icy wind was blowing, biting into her skin but she was completely not affected at all by it as she continued to swing her dangling legs playfully, not minding the height of the clock tower.

She licked onto her lower lips hungrily as she smirked crudely at the funnel of smoke from a few miles away. "Good meal, good meal~" she said in a sing-song voice, "Now, who do I feed on next?" She mused, twirling a strand of her red hair playfully. She glanced around the city below her, delightfully sniffing the winter air.

Few scans across the city, her eyes finally locked onto another apartment. They narrowed, glittering dangerously at it.

And so with a tiny flare of pinkish red from her eyes, she disappeared in a flash of red into the night.

**...**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	25. Back to Their Doors

**Chapter 24**

* * *

><p>Estella on the bed groaned groggily, quickly rolling towards the other side of the bed to get herself as far away from the glaring rays of the afternoon sun. A knock of her head against the bedside table the moment she got there, her eyes snapped open to the throbbing pain at the side of her head.<p>

She scowled at the clock on the wall across. "Afternoon already…?" She sat up and leaned back on the headboard of the bed, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "No one woke me up?" She glanced at the door in confusion. With a shrug, she settled into staring at the wall across, instantly reminded of her dream.

With the reminder of the dream, flashes of it started coming back to her.

It was a very strange dream of her going around London really late in the night, leaping and running stealthily over rooftops which were definitely not possible for humans or at least for her. And…there were fire outbreaks here and there. The part of her dream which she could remember the most clearly was the Big Ben.

What crept her out was about the dream was that it felt really real, like she _really_ did all those.

The thought of her doing all those instantly had her snorting incredulously at herself.

_Yeah right. I will probably just fall flat on the ground and die a pathetic death trying to balance on a rooftop, dumbass!_

Shaking her head, she heaved a sigh before swinging herself off the bed and making her way to the bathroom.

**…..**

* * *

><p>Ciel heaved a sigh. He tapped his fingers against the newspaper in a rhythmic manner as he drifted into thoughts.<p>

Sebastian studied the article his master was reading through narrowed eyes. His eyes lingered on its eye-catching headline.

"**THREE MYSTERIOUS FIRE OUTBREAKS IN ONE NIGHT" **

"… badly burnt…all dead…didn't know how the fire started…neighbors worried…police baffled…"

"Sebastian," Ciel finally spoke up," Any letters from the Queen?" He asked, massaging his temples wearily.

"So far, we haven't received any." Sebastian glanced down at the news article and back to Ciel with a knowing look. "Soon."

"Then we shall prepare for this investigation."Ciel announced, folding the newspaper neatly before placing it at the far end corner of his desk. His eyes widened at a remembrance at that moment. "Speaking of investigation, I feel that there might be a connection between the investigation I did last night and this. Like I told you, last night's incident was by a fire. Same goes for this case." His eyes narrowed. "This doesn't seem like a coincidence, don't you agree Sebastian?" He eyed his butler intently.

"I must agree." Sebastian nodded. "I'll investigate further on last night's."

"Good," Ciel took a sip from his cup. He moved the cup away from his lips to reveal a dead serious look. "Tonight we are heading for the Black Market. And Sebastian…" He scowled in distaste at a certain thought and heaved a resigned sigh."…I want you to get Grell to come with us."

When silence was all he was met with, Ciel glanced over to Sebastian with a raised eyebrow. The butler had a stun look on his face but it was replaced with a strained smile upon seeing Ciel's raised eyebrow. "Why…May I ask…is he coming?"

"Just in case."Ciel shrugged. A tiny smirk grew across his face, "I'm sure it would be absolutely easy for you to convince him to come." He mused, folding his arms behind his head.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at him before letting out a sigh. "Yes, my lord," he bowed to Ciel with a hand on his chest, inwardly dreading to invite the shinigami.

"Good," Ciel said, pleased with himself. He glanced over at the clock,"Blancbaston still not awake? She better know that tonight we are heading for the Black Market."  
>"Are you going to ask her about last night's incident?" Sebastian inquired.<p>

He nodded. "Of course."

"Ask who?"

They turned to the door to see Estella strolling in.

"You." Ciel eyed her with a meaningful look, "Took you long to wake up, Blancbaston," he jutted his chin at the clock.

"Well, nobody bothered to wake me up." Estella shot back irritably, folding her arms across her chest.

He rolled his eyes. "Sit down."

Estella heaved a sigh, marching forward. "Ask me what?" She sat down across him before turning to Sebastian to greet him with a crooked smile.

She glanced down on the newspaper next to her and was instantly caught on by its headline.

_Fire outbreaks? _

She frowned.

_Strange, it was what I dreamt of last night. Such coincidence…_

With a shrug, her head swiveled back to Ciel,"So yeah? What questions?"

Ciel glanced up at her. "What happened last night?" He asked lazily.

She tilted her head in puzzlement. "Last night?" A sudden memory of kissing Brandon flashing across her mind had her blushing and squeezing her eyes close in embarrassment. Her eyes snapped open. "Wha-What do you mean by what happened last night?"

"We found you unconscious outside with two badly burnt corpses." Ciel stated matter-of-factly.

"Corpses?" Her eyes widened in surprise,"why were there _corpses_?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out from you," Ciel frowned at her, "What happened when you were outside?"

"I was...I was attacked by two men. They mentioned something about their...boss," she shrugged, "Everything happened so quickly. They were charging at me. As I'm about to kick their stupid asses, I just... fainted." She frowned in confusion, "There was a voice back then..."

"What voice?" Ciel leaned forward with a frown, resting his arms on the desk.

"It sounded female and was definitely evil-sounding. Telling me that it will 'take over' and that was all I heard before I fainted." Estella shuddered at the thought of the voice.

"Where did you hear it from?"

Her eyebrow rose. "Inside here…?" She tapped onto her forehead lightly.

Ciel eyed her forehead before giving her an incredulous stare. "You mean _your head_..?"

"I know what you're thinking…" Her eyes narrowed dangerously at his incredulous stare. "I'm not crazy, okay!" She snarled, glaring heatedly at him.

"Did _I _say that you're crazy…?" He said dryly, shooting her an unimpressed look.

"You're thinking that."

He eyed her lazily. "Whatever, we're wasting time." Ciel waved dismissively at her. He turned solemn. "I believe that they were SIGMA's…"

Estella glanced up with a frown, "…I think so too."

"Speaking of them, we're heading for the Black Market tonight," his eye glittering expressively at her, "Be prepared, Blancbaston."

"What? Tonight?"

He merely nodded.

"Tonight…" Her eyes darkened with a war of emotions passing across her features. She heaved a sigh. "Alright."

"Sebastian," Ciel turned to his butler, "We're leaving in the evening. Tell Grell to meet us there."

Sebastian nodded in return.

"What?" Estella glanced at them in bewilderment. "You mean that annoying red thing is coming too?"

Sebastian smiled amusingly and said in a smooth voice, "Sadly, yes."

**…..**

* * *

><p>Winter held firmly to its icy grip on London as snow fell upon the streets of the city. The wind seemed to stand still, and the evening sun was the thing that kept the temperatures from hitting a chilling low. Amidst a particularly impoverished district in the town, a nobleman's carriage trudged across the cobblestone.<p>

"He better be there already," Estella glanced over at her master's murmur before turning back to the pistol clutched tightly in her hands.

The weight in her gloved hands was not enough to comfort her, only enough to stop her hands from trembling too much. She has to admit…She was afraid of what lies ahead, very afraid. And that was one thing she was getting frustrated about, she was acting like a freaking coward!

"Blancbaston," A harsh whisper had her turning to Ciel to find that he has already draped his head with the hood of his cloak, "We're here! I do not want any trouble."

Snapping her head over to the window, her eyes widened to see dangerous-looking men checking out the carriage in front. "Shit!" She cursed, yanking her hood over her head.

His words came back to her from earlier.

"_When we're there, hoods on. Understood? I don't want us to be recognized. Me as the Queen's guard dog and if a SIGMA member who happens to be there recognizes you. I want a smooth and successful mission."_

Fear and dread fluttered in her stomach at that.

Sneaking a peek at Ciel to see him watching the men cautiously, her hands flew and clamped over her mouth at the feel of rising bile.

"Don't you _dare _vomit here," Ciel warned sternly.

She glanced over at Ciel from the side of her eyes and quickly nodded, struggling against and finally successfully swallowed the bile back down.

She heaved a heavy sigh, shakily bringing hands back down. "Sor-Sorry…Too nervous," She took deep breaths to calm herself.

Ciel was no idiot. "You're scared," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I am not," She jutted her chin stubbornly.

"You are."

A jerk of the carriage instantly silenced them and made them glanced out.

"…Phantomhive?" Estella whispered worriedly upon seeing the approaching men.

"Don't worry, Sebastian will handle this. Just act normal," he muttered calmly.

Estella stared at him, amazed. How could he not feel scared at all? Those men looked ready to kill. Plus, they're entering _the_ Black Market.

A shrug, she glanced over to her window and nearly screamed, but thank god she was fast enough to stop herself. A man was looking in through narrowed eyes, examining them with a spine-chilling gaze.

Her eyes bored into the seat across, not daring to breathe. Her hand was roaming desperately across the seat for something to grab on.

Ciel winced at a pain at his hand and glanced down to find a hand squeezing his. He glanced up, wincing, "Oi, Blancbaston."

She hesitantly glanced over to him," Wha-what do you want?" She asked shakily in hushed voice.

Ciel raised a brow at her. "You're holding my hand," he glanced down at his hand and back to her with a pointed look.

"What…"Her eyes widened in surprise to see it was true. "Oh," she quickly took It back, "Sorry."

Ciel watched her glanced away with a curious look before glancing down at his own.

With the feeling of the carriage moving under them, he peered out to find them moving in. He blew out a relieved sigh.

"This is the worst mission. Ever." Estella finally spoke up, glancing over to him with a glare. Her eyes narrowed, "I'm going to kill you, Phantomhive."

He merely rolled his eyes to that.

**….**

* * *

><p>"SEBAS-CHAN~" Sebastian dodged the incoming shinigami, letting him crash into the wall behind.<p>

Estella gave the butler a sympathetic look as she watched him heaved an irritated sigh.

Grell quickly recovered, leaping up with a pout. "Sebas-chan! The Black Market is purrrr~fect for our date!" The shinigami batted his eyelashes at him in delight, "You're the best! EVER!" He once again went forward with wide-opened arms but ended up missing Sebastian again.

Estella eyed Grell with raised eyebrows. "Hey, hey…Spare Sebastian, will you?" She drawled, folding her arms behind her head.

As if she hadn't spoke, Grell turned to Sebastian with a pout, "Sebas-chaaaaan, why are these two here on our date?"

Sebastian had an irk look on his face.

"This is not a date, shinigami," Ciel spoke up with an irritated look, "We're here for business and you're part of it. SIGMA…Have you heard of them?"

"Well, of course!" Grell flipped his red long hair over his shoulder haughtily, "If this is not a date, then I'm out!"

Ciel eyed the shinigami thoughtfully. A mischievous smirk broke across his face, "You know your reward for this is… a_ kiss_ from Sebastian."

"Young master…" Sebastian muttered in horror.

At that, Estella glanced over sympathetically at the butler who had a betrayed look on his face.

The shark-like grin on the shinigami had Ciel's smirk growing wider, "So, what do you say?"

Grell narrowed his eyes skeptically, "Really…?"

Ciel nodded, "Yes."

The shinigami edged towards him with an excited look, "With _tongueeee_…?"

"Definitely," Ciel smirked, pleased with himself.

"Okay, I'm IN!" Grell cheered, doing a ballerina twirl. "Sebas-chan…I'll be waiting~" He threw the butler a seductive wink and blew air kisses.

Estella shook her head at Grell before turning to Ciel with a dry look, "You like torturing Sebastian, don't you?" she stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

Ciel had a subtle smile on his face, "Not really."

**…..**

* * *

><p>Ciel sighed.<p>

Behind a bush was definitely not the most comfortable place to hide. With three other people, life was hard. If not for the store that was right across them, he would have deemed this bush out of question.

"The person is late," he commented with a scowl.

"And I'm bored…" Estella added lazily.

Grell beside her nodded in agreement. "C'mon, Sebas-chan. Entertain me!"He eyed at the butler at the other end. "If you get what I mean..." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively, completely ignoring the irk look from Estella who was watching the whole thing.

Sebastian, however, paid no attention to the shinigami. His red eyes were fixed on a distant figure, watching it walk towards the store across them.

"Young Master," he whispered, "he's here."

Ciel glanced over to Sebastian what was looking at, to recognize their target.

A man with a mock of brunette hair marched towards the store with a silver rectangular suitcase hugged to his chest. His eyes never left the store, only a few glances for incoming carriages whenever he crosses over to the next pavement.

"Shut up, you two," Ciel snapped his head over to the redheads with a sharp look. "Our target is here."

"Where is the…Is that him?" Estella whispered, elbow nudging him excitedly.

"Yes, and stop doing that," he scowled irritably at her, grabbing onto her elbow to stop her nudging.

She tucked in her arms and they lapsed into silence.

The man set down the suitcase on the counter before the dealer. A whisper from the man had the dealer nodding at him before disappearing behind the curtains beside the counter.

"What did he say to the dealer, Sebastian?" Ciel whispered.

"SIGMA," Sebastian's eyes moved to Ciel, "That was all."

Ciel nodded, eyes following the movement of the dealer who emerged from the curtains with four black square boxes. The man locked the boxes into the suitcase the moment they reached the counter. A mumble of words to the dealer, the man took off in the direction of where he came from.

"He must be heading back to SIGMA."

Estella glanced over at Ciel with wide eyes. "Don't tell me we are going to follow him…." She shook her head vigorously at that thought.

To her horror, he nodded. "Well, of course."

**….**

* * *

><p>Fear gripped her the instant she caught sight of the huge SIGMA symbol on the giant gates ahead.<p>

Estella swallowed the lump in her throat, eying nervously at those gates. The only thing separating her and that place was the bush in front of her.

"Phantomhive," she turned to Ciel, "if we manage to make it out of that place alive, I'm gonna kill you for putting me through this."

**…..**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	26. Hear Fear Here

**Chapter 25**

* * *

><p>The figure stood watching the giant gates in front of him swing open.<p>

Her breath hitched at the sight of buildings that were all too familiar behind the gates.

Estella shuddered. "I-It looks exactly the same…" Her hands shook uncontrollably at the realization. Her eyes wide with fear. "Impossible…"

This was the place she burned to the very ground, and it should have stayed as it was. Why? Why does it look like nothing of that sort happened? Those hateful building was the exactly the same as it was, from the doorsteps to the roofs. Not a sign of damage.

Memories she could remember too clearly sprang out. Memories of the laboratories, the children who were with her, the feel of the cold examination table she used to lay on, the evil glints in their eyes came haunting her once again.

"Sebastian," Ciel's firm voice interrupted, bringing her attention back and to him, "Get one of those boxes from that suitcase."

"Yes, my lord," Sebastian bowed before his eyes swiveled over to the gates. They locked onto the distant walking figure.

"But firstly, Sebastian," Ciel brought Sebastian's attention back to him, "Get us all in there first."

Sebastian glanced over at the gates which the figure was making its way through "Yes, my lord," The butler bend down to scoop up Ciel with ease. His eyes which were on the figure the whole time, flickered over to the shinigami, "Grell, you're with her."

"Oh~" Grell pouted, leaping to his feet. "Why don't _you_ carry me? Why this brat?" He huffed, folding his arms across his chest childishly, straight away reminding her of a child throwing tantrum.

Sebastian was no patient demon. "Quit wasting time, Grell." His eyes flickered red at the shinigami.

Someone who was not a red-haired homosexual shinigami would have naturally cowered in fear from that.

"Oh my, Sebby!" The shinigami sighed exasperatedly, apparently oblivious to the impatience in Sebastian's eyes. His face was flushed red."Ahhh…. Don't look at me like that! I'm not ready…" He batted his eyelashes shyly at him.

Estella, who wasn't paying attention to the shinigami, had her eyes at the towering butler the whole time.

_What was that?_ She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. _Was it just my imagination or did his eyes glow red just now-_

She jerked upright at the feeling of being picked up and looked up to see Grell glancing down with a glare. She soon found out why. "Stop staring at my Sebby or I'll drop you, stupid girl!" He snarled.

An eyebrow cocked at him. "I didn't ask to be carried, you know?"

Estella yelped in surprise when she felt herself plummeting downwards. "Stupid shinigami…" She cursed under her breath, rubbing her bottom. She glanced up with a deadly glare, "Why did you drop me!"

"You little…."

"Grell!" Sebastian's deep voice had them turning to him to see him starting towards the gates.

"Coming Sebby~" The shinigami turned back to Estella with a scowl, roughly heaving her up into his arms before rushing up to catch up with Sebastian and Ciel. "Wait for me!"

**…..**

* * *

><p>"What are we doing?" Estella whispered to Ciel in front as they sneaked their way on their knees down a deserted hallway. She could hear Grell grumbling behind. "Quiet, will you?" She growled over her shoulder.<p>

"Get as much information as possible on SIGMA."

Her head swiveled back to the front. "Huh?" She blinked in confusion at Ciel to see that they have stopped.

"To report to the Queen, of course," he murmured, glancing around with a frown, "Blancbaston…" Ciel glanced over his shoulder.

"What is it? " She jumped and glanced down at a touch around her wrist in surprise to see his hand encircled around it. Estella glanced up at Ciel with a confuse frown. "What are you doing, Phantomhive?"

"Get to the front." He yanked her forward without warning.

"EEEEKKK!" The poor girl shrieked in surprise, landing on the cold hard floor beside the kneeling male who quickly clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Oi, brat." Ciel glanced over his shoulder with a glare, absentmindedly pressing his hand harder against Estella's mouth. "Stop wasting my time, I'm still waiting for a passionate _kiss _from Sebby, you know." Grell haughtily threw his hair over a shoulder.

Ciel tsk-ed, turning back to Estella who forcefully yanked his hand off her face. "You…You were suffocating me…" She breathed hard, pushing herself off the floor and plopped back down, crossed legs.

His eyes swept over to the rest of the hallway ahead. "Like he said, stop wasting time. Lead us to the laboratories."

"Hmmph. Whatever, Master." She replied sardonically, turning away to lead them.

**….**

* * *

><p>All eyes fell on Sebastian the moment he entered the room. Men suited up in hazmat suits all stood watching the butler casually strolled further into the room. The room illuminated by the hanging lights above, casted shadows across the watching men.<p>

Sebastian, however, did not return the favor as his eyes continued scanning across the room. His gaze flickered to the metal table behind the men and stopped at the piles of boxes he recognized to be his targeted item. His gaze swept over to the sides of the room where suitcases similar to the one they'd seen, were stacked up on top of each other.

"Who are you?" A bespectacled bald man stepped out from the men.

His eyes swiveled to the men and raised an eyebrow as though he just noticed their presence. "A butler." He answered vaguely, crossing over to them.

"Hey! Answer me! Who are you and what's your business here?"

Sebastian had a serene smile on his face, "A butler who is here merely to collect an item, that's all."

**….**

* * *

><p>Everything here was exactly the same like before. No doubt. Every turn and corner. Even the temperature was the same.<p>

Coming back to this place was not something she thought she will ever do.

Estella willed the tingling chills that were traipsing up and down her spine away. "Alright…we're here," She glanced at Ciel and Grell over her shoulder, the moment they reached the top of the metal staircase. "We can watch them from here. We are perfectly safe from their eyes here."

Ciel nodded, stepping forward. He crouched down to the level of the window, placing a palm against its metal grill.

Looking through its tiny holes, Ciel's eye widened at a small figure.

In the centre of the huge laboratory below, a little boy looking about the age of six, laid quietly strapped to a long metal table. His face held nothing as his eyes continued boring into the ceiling above him. He looked almost…dead.

"Gr…ay…" He was not alone.

Ciel's eye flickered over to the corner where the sob emitted from, only to find a cage of children. Some were clinging onto the bars, sobbing for the boy while some sat slumped against bars, staring into space. He glanced over to the boy once more to notice a box on a small table by him, and quickly recognized it to be similar to the one he ordered Sebastian fetch. On it, a tag read: _Fragile_.

Approaching footsteps announced another presence, Ciel turned to find three men in white coats entering, tugging on their gloves as they marched in.

"They are experimenting again."

Ciel jerked away, startled to see Estella's face next to his. "What the…" He blinked at Estella who shot him a puzzled look. His gaze flickered to Grell who was looking through the next window before stopping at Estella once again. "Share with him instead."

Estella folded her arms stubbornly. "I would rather share with you than _him_." She turned back to the window, scowling at the activities below.

**…..**

* * *

><p>The small figure squirmed in agony, struggling helplessly against the straps on him. The men in white coats standing around him, watched on with their gazes boring into the little body. One of them had a smirk on his face as he wiped the glasses of his spectacle with his coat. The whole laboratory was bathed in the boy's shrieks.<p>

All eyes from the cage could only watch, sobbing softly and trembling.

Ciel's hands were clenched tightly into fists as he glowered at the scene below. Disgusting. _Absolutely_ disgusting.

"Stop…" Estella stared wide-eye at the whimpering boy, "Stop it…Damn those bastards…" Her hand shakily tugged a strand of hair behind her ear. Nostalgia struck her and sent a chill down her spine.

_Someone please…stop them…._

Estella stared at the struggling boy with tears in her eyes as her fingers clawed at her throat desperately for air. A choking sensation was taking over, she couldn't breathe.

_She glanced over at the vials sitting on the table across her with a scowl before turning to the sound of approaching footsteps. Victor Blair's face was the first to come into her view. _

"_Get away from me!" Her legs struggled against the straps on her, in attempt to kick his face._

_Victor stared at her with eyebrows raised in amusement at her antics. "Should be punished for bad behavior…" Her eyes widened instantly at the too familiar whip he took out, watching it being raised with fear. _

_The first contact with her skin sent a shocking and burning sensation ran through her body. A shriek left her mouth instantly. _

_Her skin was screaming. Every time the whip came down on her, a hot bolt of pain would shoot up her spine. "STOP! STOP!" She yelled, her eyes wet with tears._

_To her relief, he withdrew the tool, coiling it up. "Bear this pain in mind. Don't you dare misbehave again." _

_She weakly nodded. Her skin felt raw and burnt. Her head was pounding and her lips were dry cracked. She was in no condition to speak. _

"_Alright, give her the blood," She heard Victor speak._

_While Victor strolled out towards the door, two men dressed in white coats stepped up at that order. _

_Her gaze slowly flickered over to them to see the regular two who were responsible for the injections she was given every day. _

_One slipped out a vial from the box and popped it opened, another flipping through a file. _

_All at once, they stood around her._

_She bit her lower lip at the bespectacled one held out a syringe, its long sharp needle gleamed dangerously at her._

_The dark red liquid in the syringe started decreasing in level till there was no more. Once the syringe was completely emptied, the man pulled it out and carefully placed it down on the silver tray held by the other man. _

_Both stepped back and watched in anticipation._

_She stared blankly at the ceiling above, waiting for that sensation to once again engulf her. _

_At first, there was nothing. Then suddenly, every muscle in her body was screaming, her joints were aching and she was hot. Painfully hot. It was like a current travelling up and down her body. The next thing she knew, she was shrieking and sobbing at the unbearable pain passing through her body. Her nails raked the table as she continued begging at the top of her voice for it to stop._

_She turned to them with pleading eyes. "Please…I don't want this…No more of this…Please." She spoke through gritted teeth, squeezing out the words with all the strength she could muster._

_The two turned to each other before turning back to her with cruel smirks. "You have no say in this, A174."_

_Her shoulders slumped lifelessly like the hope she harbored. She laid there, her ice blue eyes boring helplessly into them as she quietly succumbed to the pain. _

_Their cruel smirks and the pain were etched too deeply into her mind. She could never forget. Never._

Her eyes clamped shut. She shook her head in attempt to get rid the horrible images out of her mind. However, it was useless. The shrieks were causing her stupid brain to produce them. Fuck.

It was unbearable, she could watch no longer. She turned away and hastily wiped away the freely flowing tears from her eyes. _Damn it, stop crying…!_

Shrieks were growing louder by the minute.

_Bastards. _Her fingers curled up into fists.

"Shut up, brat!" A voice shouted from the laboratory below.

_Fucking bastards. _

A sharp sickening slap she knew too well to be from a whip came, followed by a child-like scream. She could hear that boy pleading…just like she did.

She slowly opened her eyes to only to close them again at another scream. "Stop…" Body shaking uncontrollably, she winced at every sickening slap caused by the whip.

Something cupped her ears. "You don't have to listen this."

Her eyes snapped opened in surprise and flickered upwards to see Ciel crouched down in front of her.

His gaze flickered to the tears she didn't seem notice flowing out from her eyes. Realizing how she was staring at him with watery eyes, his eye quickly flickered away to the side. "Enough crying, idiot. Tsk. Seriously when you're supposed to be tough being a bodyguard…"

Ciel was caught off guard when she suddenly threw her arms around his torso and pulled him into an embrace. "You…What the…" He glanced down at Estella in shock. He was about to push her away, stopped when he noticed that she was still trembling.

Awkwardly, his arms circled around her and rested on her back. He stared out at the laboratory with a scowl, failing to notice Grell who has decided that watching the laboratory was no longer interesting, was now watching them.

_Phantomhive's so warm..._Her fingers curled, clutching tighter onto his jacket.

**….**

* * *

><p>"You bastard…" His eyes darkened with annoyance at the butler's vague answer. "He's obviously an intruder. Get him!" The man roared, glancing over his shoulders at his co-workers with a fierce look.<p>

Like a cue, the men charged all at once.

Sebastian, stood unmoving, glanced around at the incomings calmly and sighed disappointedly. "It's too bad the young master didn't order me to kill…"

A second before the first arm swung at him, he leaped up over the sea of attackers and did a cartwheel before landing perfectly on the metal table, right before the piles of boxes.

"What…How…?" All heads turned back to gaze up at Sebastian in awe and disbelief.

"Is he from the circus?"

Sebastian looked amusingly at the gaping men upon picking up that comment, and bowed to them with amused smirk as though they were really in a circus.

"Hmm…" He turned back to the boxes, glancing down at them.

The men who were staring at the butler, mesmerized, broke out of their trance when they realized that Sebastian was already walking out with a box through the second door.

"Shit…stop him!"

Sebastian turned around calmly once he was at the door to see them charging towards him. He sighed. "Now, now…Please get back to work." He grabbed the metal door beside him and stepped back. He smiled, "I hate slackers."

With that, the metal door slammed close with a ringing 'clang'.

**...**

* * *

><p>Estella had a tiny smile on her face. Her eyes flickered over to Ciel. "Thanks."<p>

Ciel blinked at her a few times and nodded before gazing out of the window. His eye narrowed at something down below.

Estella's eyes lingered on him before flickering away to her hand. She slowly reached up to her face that grew too warm from embarrassment.

"Oh my, oh my…" She glanced over at Grell and shot him a confuse frown. He sighed dreamily,"As a fellow woman, I totally understand." The shinigami threw her a wink.

An eyebrow rose. _A woman…? _

"Understand? Understand what?" She tilted her head at him.

However, Grell simply chuckled, and that earned him an irked look.

_Weirdo…_

"Intruder! There's an intruder!"

The booming voice had Estella gasping. As soon as the voice finished his sentence, a siren broke out.

_We've been found out?_

"Phantomhive!" Alarmed, she turned to Ciel with a harsh whisper.

Ciel calmly turned his head to her, to her surprise, with a smirk on his face. "That's our cue to go. Sebastian's done."

"Sebby!" Grell behind clapped his hands together in delight at the mention of the butler's name.

Estella gave the cheering shinigami a bored look before peeking out at the laboratory to see that there were only the children left.

"Quiet, Grell." A smooth deep voice cut in. It sounded annoyed. "You're giving us away."

She turned to the voice. "Sebastian!"

"Sebby!" Grell threw his arms around the butler but was only to be met with air. He fell on the floor with a heavy thud.

Ciel's eye flickered to the fallen shinigami then to Sebastian. "So you have retrieved it?" His gaze fell onto a box in the butler's arm. "Alright, let's get out of here."

A nod, Sebastian bend down and scooped Ciel up into his arms before passing him the box.

Ciel gazed down at the box in his hands and over to Estella. "Get on Sebastian's back. Hurry."

"R...Right! Coming." She scrambled to stand and ran over to them.

Sebastian immediately bend down to let her get on. Once she got on, he stood up again.

Estella peered past Sebastian's shoulder in amazement.

_Wow…Everything looks so…short from here. _

She glanced up at Sebastian. "Sebastian, do you know that you're freaking tall?"

The butler's eyes went over to her. Amusement could be seen in his eyes. "Yes, I do."

**….**

* * *

><p>"SEBBY! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME LIKE THAT?" The red-haired shinigami yelled on top of his voice. "I WANT MY KISS<em>SSSS-<em>"

"Shut up, intruder."

Grell's mouth snapped close. "Huh?" He glanced over to the voice in surprise.

He blinked in confusion at a bespectacled man. His gaze flickered to the crowd of people that followed behind him and back to the man himself once again. "You mean _me_?" He pointed at himself.

The man looked at him funny, as though trying to decide whether the shinigami really doesn't know or was just plain stupid. "Of course. Who else?"

A glower appeared on Grell's face. Annoyed at a certain Earl, his eyebrow twitched. "GAHH! DAMN THAT PHANTOMHIVE BRAT!" The bespectacled man and the others behind him jumped back in surprise at the shinigami's outburst. "I'm getting out of here!" Grell huffed irritably, completely ignoring them.

Not a word more, the shinigami disappeared, leaving the people staring blankly at the once occupied spot.

**….**

* * *

><p>"He said something about a Phantomhive brat, sir…" Robert timidly glanced up at the man.<p>

"Phantomhive, you say?" Victor Blair glanced over at Robert to confirm.

"Yes, sir!" Robert quickly nodded.

His eyes shone dark green. "Alright, continue with the experiments. You may take your leave." Victor waved dismissively at Robert who thanked him and jogged out of the dark room.

"That nosy watchdog, huh?" Victor snorted amusingly, gazing out at the thundering sky through the window behind him.

"Master," Victor turned around to the voice to see a young male emerged from the shadows. His amethyst eyes were shining brilliantly in the dark as he strolled up to Victor. "Do you need me to go after them?"

Victor burst out into chuckles.

"No need because soon it will be our turn to invade them. "A lopsided smirk crept across his face. "To prepare for it is all I want you to do, Brandon…"

**….**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	27. And The Earl Smiles

**Chapter 26 *** A Xmas Eve Special *****

* * *

><p>Estella couldn't understand how Sebastian like any ordinary human could get them out of SIGMA by leaping out of their building without having them plummeting down to their deaths. The question in her mind was quickly forgotten because they were sailing through the cold winter air towards the snowy ground below, at a <em>very<em> fast speed.

The wind was rushing at her, clawing her skin with its very cold nails as it blew past. Her arms tightened around Sebastian. It was freezing. She couldn't see as her eyes were tightly shut due to the stinging, no thanks to the wind.

All thought was wiped out of her mind except for one that managed to stay firmly in her mind: _Sebastian was not human or at least not an ordinary one. _

**...**

* * *

><p>The great doors of the Phantomhive Manor were wide opened when they reached. The golden light shining from the inside looked warm and brilliant as though it was there to welcome them back from the chilly winter.<p>

Sebastian bend down to let the two adolescents down. His eyes locked on the doors as he straightened up again once they were on their feet.

"Why is the doors left open?" Ciel scowled, voicing out the same question Sebastian had in mind.

Estella, however, didn't care to ponder with them."Who cares about that? Let's get our asses in, it's freaking cold!" She snarled in irritably at Ciel, shaking like mad.

The howling wind, as if to support her statement, blew harder.

"Go in then!" Ciel snapped, pulling his coat tighter around him.

Estella nodded. She glanced over at Sebastian who looked completely unaffected by the cold. Her eyes narrowed instantaneously. "Don't you feel cold, Sebastian?" She questioned through chattering teeth.

"No, I'm fine." She quickly wiped the suspicious look off her face just as he turned to her.

Estella glanced at the two who started walking and shook her head. "Alright! Suit yourselves!" She charged towards the doors. "Continue taking your time and you two will freeze to death!" She threw over her shoulder before turning back to make a final dash to the manor.

She slowed down to a stop at the doors.

Her mouth opened to yell. "Alright, who left the stupid doors open-"

But before she knew, she was tackled down by a flash of blond and red. It yelled something that sounded akin to 'Ciel~' as they went down.

Estella winced at the throbs at her back of her head and butt, opening her eyes only to find herself staring at a pair of big round green eyes. They blinked in confusion and so did she.

"Lady Elizabeth?" She realized who it was the moment it drew away. Estella pushed herself up to rest on her forearms and stared curiously at the girl who was sitting on her.

Blinking a few times at her, Elizabeth mouthed an 'O'. "Estella? Oops, I thought you were Ciel." She shot Estella a sheepish smile before getting off.

"Here." Elizabeth offered a hand which Estella obligingly took.

"What are you doing here, Elizabeth?" Estella who was done brushing the snow off her hair and rear, turned around to the voice to see Ciel stroll in with a frown.

But instead, the girl made a squeal and flew towards him. His protests were cut off the moment she tumbled onto him to hug him.

Sebastian who quietly followed behind his master raised a brow at the three servants who suddenly appeared beside him.

"You're back, Sebastian!"

"What's going on, you three?" He stared at them expectantly for the answer.

They looked like they were trying to force themselves to be serious. In the end, excited grins broke out anyway. "Prince Soma and Mr Agni are here!"

Ciel who finally made Elizabeth release him, had an exasperated look on his face. "They invited themselves here again?" He growled in annoyance, slapping his forehead. He glanced up, eying at them with a sigh. "For what this time?" He asked tiredly, massaging his temples.

Finny spoke up from the trio with a smile. "They said to celebrate your birthday and Christmas Eve."

Estella who was about to open her mouth to say something, gave a little shriek when she felt two hands clamped onto her shoulders. "Heh...Who's this pretty lady here, Ciel?" A playful voice which sounded so awfully close to her left ear asked her master.

All heads turned to it and so did hers.

A young Indian man with long semi tied-up purple hair looking about the age of sixteen to eighteen winked at her the moment their eyes met.

"Prince Soma!" Ciel snarled irritably, completely ignoring his earlier question."How many times did I say about barging into my manor?"

His golden eyes flicked away and over to the boy. A pout came to his face as the 'Prince Soma' guy whined. "Ciel, you're so mean!"

"Welcome back, Master Ciel and Mr Sebastian." Another voice came. However, this time, it sounded much more mature and serious.

Estella turned to the voice to find a _very _tall Indian man standing by her. His head of short spiky white hair was wrapped with a turban and beads that adorned the braids that rested across a shoulder. Seeing him bow to her master with a bandaged hand reminded her of Sebastian almost immediately.

A smile broke across his serious face. "I hope you don't mind. Prince Soma is here because he wants to celebrate your birthday and Christmas Eve with you."

The purple-haired one behind her nodded quickly in agreement.

"I _do_ mind." Ciel, ignoring Prince Soma, glanced over at the man with his arms folded across his chest. "There's no need to celebrate for pointless things like these. Plus, it's late already." He said grumpily.

"C'mon, Ciel! Don't be like this!" Elizabeth whined.

Ciel eyed her boredly. "You promised. No celebrate of any sort."

"B-Bu-But..." She pouted. "It was their idea, not mine. So I didn't actually break my promise, you know?"

Ciel looked at her for a while before sighing. "Fine, do whatever you guys want. Just leave me out of this."

"Ahhh...Young Master is so anti-social." Sebastian mused, instantly earning himself a nasty glare from his master.

"Ciel, please! C'mon!" Ciel turned to Soma with a scowl.

"Ciel~" He turned to Elizabeth with a 'No' face.

Unfortunately for him, more came after.

"Young Master!"

"Master!"

"Master Ciel!"

"Just do it, Phantomhive."

"Ciel~"

"C'mon, Ciel!"

"Ho. Ho. Ho."

A brow on Ciel's face twitched as pleas, whines and 'Ho. Ho. Ho's continued coming from around him.

"Master!"

"C'mon, Ciel, don't be like this~"

"Master Ciel!"

"Goddamn it, Phantomhive! Will you just agree? It's getting rather noisy here!"

"Young Master!"

"Ho. Ho. Ho."

"Master-"

That was his last straw. "FINE, I'LL JOIN IN TOO! SO SHUT UPPP!"

Everyone quietened immediately at that. A 'thank god' breathed heavily out from the tiny crowd who suspiciously sounded like his red-haired servant.

And that was exact the two words which crossed his mind as he sighed. "Alright, celebrate as much as you guys want." Ciel massaged his temples wearily. "Just stop shouting or talking so loud. You guys are giving me a headache..." He grumbled, strolling forward.

Much to his annoyance, the quiet tiny crowd around him broke out into cheers the moment he said that.

"QUIET!"

**...**

* * *

><p>The party could only be described with one word: <em>Crazy<em>.

The entrance hall had pillows, stuff toys, badly burnt unknown articles, three toilet rolls, puddles of purple liquid, a smashed cakes and mostly slumbering humans all over it. Amongst the slumbering humans, only four haven't surrendered to sleep yet. Two of the four were on the verge of doing so though.

One of the sleepy one, Ciel, glanced around his manor sleepily. The scene before him was horrifying. "The hell...Shouldn't have agreed." He grimaced at the objects scattered around him. But he was too tired to bother about the mess right now so he simply turned away and started climbing up the stairs.

The two completely awake one who was none other than Sebastian and Agni watched the master climb.

"Good night, Young Master."

"Master Ciel, rest well!"

Ciel let out a yawn in return. "Carry the guests and the servants to the rooms. Clean the place too." He ordered tiredly.

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian immediately went to work and quickly exited the entrance hall with the first batch which were the trio, piled up in his arms.

"I'll help too, Mr Sebastian!" Agni called after the leaving butler and went to gather up snoozing Prince Soma and Elizabeth.

Ciel didn't wait for the two to clear the room of the sleeping ones.

"Hey, Blancbaston." Ciel paused in front of the said girl who sat on a few steps away from him.

Estella was nodding off, the need for sleep was apparent. "Hmm...?" She raised her head up sleepily. "_What_?" She drawled with an irritated look the moment when she saw it was Ciel.

"Get to your room to sleep, not here."

Estella had no energy to argue so she just did what he said by standing up. She started climbing, holding the railing to support her sleepy self.

Watching the girl lifelessly climbed up with calculated patience, he rolled his eye and let out a heavy sigh. "Honestly..."

He made his way round the girl and stopped in front of her causing her to bump into him. "Don't block my way..." She glared weakly at him.

Ciel merely turned away from her and crouched down. "Climb on."

"Huh? Climb on? Climb on what?"

"My back!" He hissed impatiently.

"Why...?"

Ciel sighed and rolled his eye the second time. "Quiet, stop asking questions. At this rate, you probably won't be able to make it to your bed even before sunrise."

Estella blinked at him, watching him gesture at her with an impatient look.

"Get on already!" He snapped.

Her mind was too tired to think clearly so she simply leaned forward and draped her arms over his shoulders. The male sighed, murmuring something akin to 'Finally' under his breath and stood up, holding onto her legs to support so that she wouldn't slide off before starting to climb.

Estella stared ahead half-awake, watching them reach the top of the steps.

**...**

* * *

><p>Her eyes were wide in realization. "Why are you carrying me?" Shock was evident in her voice.<p>

"Huh?" Ciel threw a confused look over his shoulder at the panicking girl.

Estella looked around the hallway they were moving along before turning back to him. "Uhh...What's going on?"

"Nothing. I'm just sending you back to your room.

"Oh..." Pink dusted on her cheeks. "Where are the others?"

"Asleep."

"Aha."

Silence fell between them as they made their way down the hallway.

"Am I heavy?"

"...No."

Staring at the back of his head, she leaned forward to rest her chin lightly on his shoulder.

She sighed contently. The warmth radiating off him reminded her of the hug they had in SIGMA, familiar and comforting. She sighed the second time as she watched his earring twinkled blue at her and gave a soft chuckle.

She was grateful, grateful that he was there to go through the horrors with her. Somewhere deep down, she knew that this hard-headed and proud guy would be there to catch her if she falls.

"Thank you, Phantomhive, thank you..."

A feeling she couldn't describe was bubbling inside her when she was whispering her gratitude to him. Whatever that was, she knew it was something good.

The tiny words invading his right ear made him stop.

However, the girl has already fallen asleep on his shoulder to realise that or let alone see the small smile on his face.

_Welcome and...Merry Christmas, Blancbaston._

**...**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>Done!<strong>

**Merry Xmas, people! And happy birthday to Ciel! Hope you enjoyed this little piece of Xmas special. **

** Please review! Thanks.**

**xoxo,**

**SavageTrickster**


	28. That Butler, Whimsical

**Chapter 27**

* * *

><p>"It's Christmas! Time to wake up, my lady.'<p>

"Huh...?" Her eyes opened a wink to the voice. Who the hell was disturbing her this early in the morning?

The face of a purple-haired Indian young man brightened when he saw her eyes open but later fell with a disappointed look when her eyes shut again. "Agni, Estella went back to sleep again!" She could hear the man whine to someone.

Trying to fall back to sleep was not possible with someone yelling over her head but she had to try.

"Miss Blancbaston, please wake up." Someone shook her.

She ignored that, determined to go back to sleep. The shaking stopped after awhile to her delight.

_Giving up, huh..._

"WAKE UP!" A shout invaded her ears.

"What the hell!" Estella shot up from her pillow. Her eyes were wide with shock. They went over to the grinning purple head. What was his name again?

She, however, was too annoyed to ponder.

"You finally woke up!" He seemed so proud of himself.

Estella shot him an angry look. "Why. Do. You. Need to SHOUT into my ears in the early bloody morning!"

"Yikes!" The purple head ran and hid behind a taller man, "Agni, she's just like Ciel!"

A voice came from the door. "Just like me?"

All heads turned to it to find Ciel leaning by the door in his pajamas. His hair was sticking out in different angles, and he looked annoyed. "It's no surprise. _Shouting_ into people's ears just to wake them up was absolutely evil."

"Morning, Blancbaston."

His eye flickered over to Estella and back to the purple head who grumbled, "Ciel, why are you so mean to your best friend?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that you're _not_ my best friend?"

"Meanie!"

Estella rolled her eyes at them and laid back down on her bed, silently hoping that no one noticed. She was about to drift off to sleep when one of them which sounded like that purple-haired moron, yelled, "She went back to sleep!"

In the end, she gave up trying to go back to sleep. It was _definitely _not possible with that moron yelling over her head. "I'm up. So will you SHUT THE HELL UP?" She swung herself off bed, grabbed up a maid uniform and stormed into the bathroom.

The bathroom door slammed close with a loud thud.

Prince Soma stared at the door with a horrified look and turned to Ciel. "She's indeed like you, Ciel!"

Ciel glanced away from the door and eyed the prince boredly. "Can't blame her."

**…..**

* * *

><p>The doors of the dining hall slammed open to reveal Prince Soma.<p>

"Ciel! Ciel! What's that square box?! Why are there people inside?!"

The said boy glanced up from his breakfast with annoyance clearly shown on his face. "Oh, shut up! Don't go yelling this early in the morning!"

Estella inwardly agreed with her master, too glared at the prince but she realized he was completely oblivious to their glares. He looked somewhat stupidly fascinated by his mysterious discovery. "There was a man who beat up bad guys! They were-"

"Anyway!" Prince Soma blinked at Ciel's outburst. "When are you two going back home to India?"

The prince looked puzzled."What are you saying? Aren't I staying in England for your sake?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you say that you didn't believe me when I said I'd become a great man?" Prince Soma beamed proudly at himself, "So I'm staying until I become one so I can show you!"

Ciel had an incredulous look on his face. "Tha-"

"Prince!" Agni's head peeked in with a wide smile. "You were with Master Ciel after all. You weren't in your room so I was wondering where you had gotten to."

One brow rose at the man, Ciel snorted. "What do you mean 'his room'? I don't remember saying you could live here."

Prince Soma shrugged nonchalantly, brushing his comment away. "Besides that, how does that square box work?"  
>"That's why I'm saying!" The prince flinched. "LISTEN WHEN OTHER PEOPLE TALK!"<p>

Estella sighed.

**...**

* * *

><p><strong>London. Scotland Yard Headquarters.<strong>

"It's convenient that Lord Randall is absent, isn't it?"

Fred Aberline blinked at Ciel before panicking when his eyes stopped on Sebastian who was copying the records. He turned back to Ciel. "Please forgive me! If the Commissioner knew about this-"

"It's better if he doesn't."

Estella eyed the officer with a calculated look and leaned towards Ciel. "Are you sure we should do this?" She asked in a low voice.

"Ah."

"In the first place," the two turned to Aberline who was glancing over at the window beside him and to them, "how did you get into the third floor file room?!" He had a look of disbelief.

Estella raised a brow at him. Actually, that was what she had in mind when they just got into the room. That inevitably increased her suspicions she had on Sebastian.

Ciel, however, brushed away that comment and strolled past him. "How does it look, Sebastian?"

"Of the children we've been asked to investigate," Sebastian's eyes never left the papers in his hands to look up at his approaching master, "there appears to have no increase in corpses."

"If you've finished copying the files, we're leaving." Ciel flipped through the pages of the records. "May I borrow these photos?"

Estella sweatdropped at the gaping man beside her. "That'd be troublesome!"

"If you're caught, say that I took them."

"I'll still be scolded!"

Estella glanced over at the flustered man with a sympathetic look. She glanced over to Ciel when he spoke again. "You...Let's see, Underline?"

"It's Aberline."

Ciel read the information Sebastian copied down, waving his hand dismissively at the officer. "Thank you for today."

Aberline jumped, startled by Sebastian who suddenly appeared beside him and grabbed up his hand. "A token of thanks for your cooperation." He felt the butler place something in his hand.

Shooting the butler a questioning look, he gazed down at his hand to see four golden coins. "I don't need this!" He snapped his head up to look at Sebastian with a scowl.

"There's something to be said for flexibility." Ciel strolled past him, "Whatever methods necessary...is it."

"I knew you used whatever methods necessary to solve cases as quickly as possible, but..." Aberline's hands curled up into fists, "...this is-"

"Hurry up and get promoted..." Ciel walked out with Sebastian beside him,"...Mr Aberline."

"Thank you."

Estella bowed her head apologetically at the poor man before leaving with the two in front.

**...**

* * *

><p>"Could this be the work of SIGMA?"<p>

Ciel and Sebastian who was in the midst of their discussion, glanced over at her who was uncharacteristically quiet the whole time, in surprise.

"There's a possibility that they could be involved, but it doesn't seem so."

Ciel eyed her thoughtfully before glancing down to read the letter in his hand.

_To my cute little boy, _

_Did you pass this year's Christmas enjoyably? I made a Christmas pudding with my Philip. It was a grand thing, and even John and Grey praised it. Next time you'll try it too, won't you?_

_In any case, this time I've enclosed for you a ticket. Did you know a traveling circus has come to London? It seems they are a troupe that has visited various places, but somehow, in each city they have performed in seems there have been incidents where a number of children have simply disappeared. Apparently the children disappear suddenly in the middle of the night..._

_The government is also searching to the utmost of its ability, but the children's whereabouts are as of yet unknown. Really, it's as though they have been kidnapped by the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The unbearable sadness of being separated from their precious families... _

_I am asking you to safely return them to their families as quickly as possible._

_Your Queen,_

_Victoria_

Ciel sighed heavily and kept the letter. "It's someone else." His eye flickered over to Estella.

"Young Master," Sebastian brought his attention away," If this deals with the underworld, will we be visiting his place once again?"

The thought of the Undertaker had Ciel sighing the second time. "To be honest, I want to avoid it, but..." His eye swept across the two's face with a solemn look,"...whatever it is, we will be visiting a circus."

**...**

* * *

><p>The three exited the Undertaker's shop and piled onto the carriage. One of them was still fuming.<p>

"I can't believe I actually did that..." Ciel sighed at the embarrassing antics he did to make the Undertaker give him information, "And got nothing in return... That stupid Undertaker!" He growled.

Estella blinked at his annoyed face before breaking into laughter. "Pffft...I wish I was there to watch."

"Shut up."

"So, to the circus now?"

Ciel nodded before glancing out of the window to see them speeding down the street. "Yes, to Noah's Ark Circus..."

**...**

* * *

><p>"Is this it?"<p>

Ciel's eye swept across the sea of audience before him.

"Wow, nice-looking circus they have here..." Estella awed, studying the place around her.

The huge tent they were in filled with people of all ages. Chit-chats and childish squeals came from around them. The three chandeliers above the circular stage which was a few steps away from their seats, bathed the whole room in gold, painting the tent with life. From the look of the whole set-up, this circus was obviously only for the rich.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages!" Her gaze was brought back to the stage to see a uniquely dressed handsome man standing in the middle of a spotlight. The crowd around them let out a few murmurs and gasps at his abrupt entrance. "Welcome to the Noah's Ark Circus!" He bowed with balls in between his fingers.

Her eyes widened at his right hand. Skeleton!

There came louder murmurs and gasps from the crowd around them when he started skilfully juggling the balls. Everyone around her was awe-struck except for her master and Sebastian. Her master, she noticed, just watched on boredly as though it was everyday thing to watch.

"My name is Joker. If you'll look here...Whoops!" The flying balls slipped from his fingers and bounced off his head. The man who he introduced himself to be 'Joker' quickly recovered and glanced up with a sheepish smile.

While that happened, more uniquely dressed people appeared around him.

As though their entrance was a cue, a confident look replaced the smile quickly. With a clear of throat, Joker straightened up. "The whole circus is jostling for a chance to give you a fun show!"

"Here we go!" Joker had a smug smile as he announced, "With one shot from the fire-eating man..."

A bald muscular man who stood in one of the people behind him, blew fire from his mouth the moment Joker said that.

The man 'wowed' the audience. Gasps could be heard from everywhere.

The smug smile on Joker's face grew wider. "...The show of the century begins~!"

**...**

* * *

><p>Performances went on, stunning the audience with each and every little antics. All eyes were glued to the stage with awe except for Ciel and Sebastian.<p>

"If they don't intend to make a show of the children, perhaps the circus's movements and the children's disappearances are merely a coincidence?" Estella heard her master talk to Sebastian in a low voice.

"Or like I said, the children's disappearance could be because of SIGMA." The two glanced over at her in surprise.

"SIGMA can-"

"And finally! The star of the show, our wild animal tamer!" All three heads turned back to the stage to see a woman dressed in a very seductive black mini dress step beside Joker with a whip. Estella gaped at the woman's breasts. The dress looked like it was going burst from their size!

As if on cue, a tiger strolled out of its cage and greeted the audience with its cold yellow eyes which stunned them with fear and awe.

"For this act, we'd like a volunteer from the audience!" Joker and the woman stood, unaffected by the fact that they were right beside the gigantic beast, completely exposed to the danger.

Ciel sighed. "No matter how you look at it, this theatre going was a waste of time. It appears the final show also has no connection to the children."

"Kind of agree..." Estella nodded at this.

Abruptly, Sebastian shot up from his seat, alarming the two. He, however, looked too mesmerized by something to care that he was attracting them unwanted attention.

Estella blinked in confusion at him. "What the hell are you doing, Sebastian?"

Ciel frowned at his butler before looking to the direction Sebastian was looking. "What is it? Did you find something-"

"That really distinguished-looking man in the tailcoat!" Ciel glanced over to the stage to see Joker pointing at the butler. "Please step onto the stage!"

Ciel and Estella gasped in unison at that.

"Now, come on down!" Joker urged.

Ciel's eye widened in realization at Sebastian. _Is that it? This is our chance to contact them._

"Sir." Sebastian waited for Ciel's permission.

"Go."

With that, Sebastian strolled forward.

_The mystery case where children disappear one by one._

"Eh?!" Estella had an incredulous scowl at Ciel who had his eye fixed on his retreating butler's back.

_The only clue to the truth of the situation is this circus._

Ciel didn't respond to the girl but continued watching in anticipation.

_Making contact with them is a success but...Sebastian, how in the world does he intend to investigate?_

Ciel's eye narrowed. His hopes growing as he watched on. _With those spectators..._

"Now, sir, could you lie down over there?" Joker gestured at a table with a smile when Sebastian stepped onto the stage, but his smile quickly fell when he realised that the butler wasn't walking towards it. "Ah?" A confused look was plastered on Joker's face as he watched Sebastian walk past him.

Silence hung heavily in the air as all eyes watched Sebastian strolled across the stage.

"Ahhh..."

Gasps erupted from everyone when Sebastian suddenly stopped in front of the tiger and knelled on a knee in front of it.

"Such round eyes..." His gloved hands caressed the tiger's face stimulating uproar of horror from the audience.

Estella panicked, staring at the butler as though he has gone mad. "Sebastian!"

Ciel, however, was too busy gaping in horror. "Crap! Tigers are cats!"

**...**

* * *

><p>"Who say you can go that far?!" Ciel sneered at the butler as they three made their way out of the tent.<p>

Estella stared at Sebastian as though he has two heads. "Yeah, yeah! Are you crazy?! The freaking tiger bit your crazy head! I'm surprise your head is still intact!"

"My apologies." Sebastian didn't look sorry at all. He in fact had a satisfied look on his face. "I've lived for such a long time, but it's only cats whose fickle emotions I cannot read." He said dreamily.

Estella blinked at the butler. She has never seen this side of Sebastian before.

Ciel looked annoyed. "What were you thinking? Being far more conspicuous than necessary...ACHOO!" He rubbed his nose with a scowl. "Walk further back! You know I'm allergic to cats!"

Sebastian merely bowed to that, watching his master strolled forward.

Estella was about to follow when a voice stopped her.

"Ah! There you are! Hold on a sec!" She and Ciel whipped around to the voice to see Joker from earlier show running towards them. His eyes were on Sebastian. "In the tailcoat!"

"I was surprised 'cause you suddenly got so close to the tiger." Joker said to Sebastian, "You okay from the bite? Anyway, we've got us a special doctor here, and I was thinkin' he should check you out. C'mon round to the back." Joker drew out his hand, his skeleton one to gesture at a certain direction.

Estella's eyes darted from Joker to Sebastian, anticipating for the butler to give his answer.

A polite smile suddenly broke across Sebastian's face. "In that case, I will."

**...**

* * *

><p>The door of the carriage swung open, having Estella and Ciel snapping their heads over to watch Sebastian climbing on board.<p>

"We've got an entrance test."

Estella raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What for?"

Ciel scowled. "Why did it end up this way?"

"Part of the circus. Perfect for this investigation, isn't it, Young Master?" Sebastian said calmly.

Ciel had a deep frown on his face. "Can't believe this." He huffed."It can't be helped. We'll do it."

Estella groaned at this.

**...**

* * *

><p>The huge 'Noah's Ark Circus' sign before them gave her the dread. It was the day of the entrance test Sebastian got them into, no thanks to him.<p>

Ciel, beside her, was dressed very un-Ciel like. Dressed in commoner's top and pants, he definitely could pass off as an ordinary pageboy called 'Finnian'. Though it makes her wonder why he had to use Finny's name.

Sebastian was dressed like usual. She was supposed to be maid who quit her job. Now, she was standing before the gate of circus with the other two in an attire of top and pants for the test, getting more and more nervous by the minute.

"Alright, let's go in." Ciel ushered as he strolled forward.

They were immediately greeted by the circus crew the moment they stepped past the gate. Some of them were who she recognized to be the performers she saw last night.

"Whoa, you brought two with you, huh." Joker emerged from the tiny crowd with an 'O'. His golden eyes flickered over to Ciel. "Are you a boy?"

"Pfft." Estella who nearly choked on her saliva upon hearing that question, raised an amused eyebrow at Ciel.

Ciel ignored her. "Yes. I was a pageboy at the manor. Um...My name is Finnian."

Joker stepped forward with a look of disbelief. "Are you really a boy? What a grand name."

An eyebrow twitching at that, Ciel nodded.

Joker then abruptly turned to Estella, giving a small bow to her with an endearing smile. "How about you? What's your name?"

She blushed slightly at how he was smiling at her. "M-My name's Estella. I-I used to work at the same manor as Finnian as a maid."

"Why did someone with a pretty face like you, work as a maid?" He gently raised her chin.

This time, it was Ciel's turn to nearly choke on his saliva.

_Wha-What? _Ciel raised an eyebrow.

Estella's eyes quickly flickered away from his golden ones when she realized she was staring right into them. Her face grew redder. This man...

She didn't know what to say so she merely shrugged.

The man before her chuckled and turned his attention away. "If you two join, we'll have to give you a stage name. But..." There was a heavy silence before Joker continued, "...The appearances aren't enough to join the circus. If you can't perform, that is."

Ciel and Estella nodded nervously in unison at that.

"In that case, let's do knife-throwing first." Joker turned away with a challenging smile. "Dagger, pass them the daggers."

**...**

* * *

><p>Joker, Dagger and the other on-lookers gaped at the two target boards while Ciel and Estella held proud smirks. Each of their target boards had all eight daggers stuck to them. These were signs of success for their first test, thanks to Sebastian who secretly helped from the sides.<p>

Joker blinked a few times at the boards before turning to them. "Impressive! Now to tight-rope walking!"

**...**

* * *

><p>Her heart skipped a beat for Ciel when she saw that he was nearly going to fall from the rope.<p>

"Careful..." Estella gasped under her breath.

"Ohh. He recovered, he recovered." Joker commented like an emcee when Ciel regained his balance, once again thanks to Sebastian.

She sighed in relief as she watched him made his way unsteadily over to the other side.

"Very good!" Joker cried out the moment he finished.

**...**

* * *

><p>Her heart was beating like crazy and she was sweating like a pig right now. The rope was cutting painfully into her feet as she moved. Estella didn't dare to breath too much as she took unsteady steps across the narrow rope.<p>

She noticed while she was on this rope that her balance has improved a lot thanks to her training though she still needed some help from Sebastian for this.

Another slow step forward, the muscles in her left leg clenched in preparation to move forward.

Estella nearly let out a shriek when she felt herself falling towards the side. Fortunately, another hit from a pebble at her side stopped her fall, just like what Sebastian did for the previous test. She silently cursed at the throbbing pain she got from it and continued her progress.

"Nearly there~" Joker cheered from below.

She peered up at the platform ahead and cheered inwardly. _Four steps left._

_One._

Another step brought her closer to the platform.

_Two_.

Her arms flailed when she felt herself falling to the side once again. Taking another hit at her side from Sebastian, she recovered, gulping nervously and carefully moved forward.

_Three. One more to go._

She summoned a tiny more bit of energy and took her last step before landing onto the platform. Relief bloomed at her chest as she stood on her feet unsteadily, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart.

Panting, Estella glanced over the edge of the platform with an accomplished smirk.

Joker gave her a thumb-up. "Amazing!"

**...**

* * *

><p>"Everyoooone~ From today on, we have some new friends." Joker announced to the crew, gesturing at the three people standing beside him. "Newcomers. Black..."<p>

Sebastian still had his usual butler attire but with an addition of a mark across his right eye. "I'm Black. It's a pleasure." He smiled widely at the crew.

"This cute one is..."

Ciel in a fancy pirate costume, had a strain smile on his face. "S-Sm..." He forced out.

"Smile!"

Ciel blew out a relief sigh, glad that he didn't need to finish saying his embarrassing stage.

"And finally..."

A fake smile broke across Estella's face. The small purple star on her right cheekbone was stretched slightly as the smile held on.

"...Star!"

**...**

* * *

><p><strong><em>-End of Chapter-<em>**


	29. That Butler, Practice

**Chapter 28**

* * *

><p>"Perfect! Now we have our very own Shooter!" Joker beamed down at her with an excited grin, handing her two elegant-looking guns. "I've already got a tent set up for you to train in."<p>

Estella stared at the guns in her hands and grinned back at him. "Cool. Thank you, Joker."

"Nah, it's good that you got that skill with you. It will be a fresh act!" He caught her by surprise when he suddenly bend down to her eye level and patted her head. He straightened up with a sigh and threw her a wink. "It's good to have you as another sister. Welcome to the family!"

Estella blinked a few times at his affectionate gesture, it struck her strange. The last time she had someone doing that to her was before… her parents' deaths.

His grin was contagious enough to snap her out of her trance. "Thanks." She thanked him the second time.

"Alright! Now let's find our other two new members, I've got to get you guys settled."

Ushering her to follow, they entered the next tent.

**….**

* * *

><p>"Thanks for waiting~ It's time for the new arrivals' room assignments~" Joker announced enthusiastically.<p>

However, the said people didn't share the same enthusiasm. Dagger was the only one who returned the enthusiasm.

"Huh, Smile's not very cheerful. Smile, smile!" Joker smiled encouragingly at an exhausted Ciel who sat slouched on a crate.

Estella strolled over to Ciel the moment she joined the other newcomers. "Hey, what's with you?"

"Nothing."

Raising a raised eyebrow at him, her eyes widened at a stranger beside Sebastian. The be-spectacled tall man with neatly-combed black hair just stood there emotionlessly. It was odd- with the exception of Sebastian- to see a circus crew all dressed up so formal in a suit.

"Alright! For fairness, these are the results of a lottery."

Her attention went back to Joker.

"Smile and Star are in Tent 8." A boy stepped up beside Joker the minute that was said. Joker slapped a hand lightly on the smiling boy's back and continued. "Here's your roommate."

_It'll be…tough to suddenly room with someone else. _Ciel thought worriedly before glancing over at Estella who was looking back and forth at him and the smiling boy. _And why with her too?!_

Ciel watched her raise an arm. "Erm…why do I have to share with males?"

Joker looked surprised at her question and that was before a side of his mouth quirked up amusingly and at the same time, apologetically. "Sorry, sis. There are not enough tents to house everyone so you will have to bear with it."

_Sis…? _

Ciel glanced over at Estella who nodded slowly to Joker's reply.

"Black's in Tent 9."

"_What_?" Ciel turned his head to Joker in shock. "Seba…Black aren't rooming together with us?!"

"Hm?" Joker blinked at Ciel's outburst. "Your tent can only fit three people, Smile."

"Ahahaha. Smile really sticks close to Black, huh~" Dagger commented cheerily. "You'll be independent soon." He nodded with a grin at Ciel.

_This is bad. If Sebastian and the two of us are separated here, moving around is going to be…_

Ciel panicked. "Black, Star and I should be together afterall-"

"Black's roommate is...Suit!"

All heads turned to the quiet be-spectacled man.

Eying Sebastian and the man intriguingly, Estella swore she saw their faces darkened at Joker's announcement.

"Whaaaat?!"

**….**

* * *

><p>Estella sat on her assigned bed, watching idly as the 'Freckles' boy asked Ciel whether if he could let him take the top of the bunker bed across hers.<p>

"Go ahead. I think I prefer the bottom anyways." She heard Ciel reply.

She glanced away from them and stared at her feet, letting her mind wander to 'Suit' who she have just learned to be a shinigami like Grell from Ciel.

It was strange to see a shinigami here. Could it be…the disappearances of children were really linked to this circus? Her eyes bore unblinkingly into the floor as disbelief arose at that thought. Could people _this_ nice do such things?

"Wan' one, Star? There're from the popular Funtom Company!" Estella gazed up from the floor to see Freckles's waiting hand in front of her face. Her eyes widened at the wrappers which stared back. Funtom sweets?

"Thanks."

Surprised by how the dark one she chose melted nicely on her tongue the moment she popped it in, it struck her why she never got to taste Funtom sweets before even when they were her master's products.

"Anyhoo, you two just gimme a shout if there's somethin' you two ain't gettin'. There's a long life of circus ahead you two!" Freckles said cheerfully and headed out of their tent.

"So...What do you think of that sweet?"

With a face so solemn she never expected Ciel would ask such a trivial question, she gave him a dry look instead.

**….**

* * *

><p>Tears streaked uncontrollably down her flushed face. Hiccups kept coming as she made her way towards the blue tent ahead.<p>

"Joker!" She called out when she reached its door.

Joker poked his head out. His hair was down and his face was free of the tear drop paint he had earlier. It was new to her to see him in plain shirt and pants like an ordinary man, not all geared up in his performance attire.

"Star? What are you-"" Shock passed his face. "Why are you cryin'? You okay?"

"I had a horrible nightmare. Sorry for disturbing you, I could only find you." She sniffed. "It's that…you are just like an older brother to me. I don't know who else to go to. So…" Estella rubbed her eye and gave another sniff. A slight blush decorated her face. "…can I sleep here? Please…?"

_C'mon, c'mon! This has to work! They're depending on me!_

Joker blinked a few times at her and that was before a gentle smile broke across his face. "Come in." He held the drapes apart for her.

_Yes!_

Nodding, Estella stepped past him, only to be shocked by the size of his tent. It was thrice the size of hers.

Joker caught her gaping and realized why. "Yea', spacious huh…" He placed his hands on her shoulders and led her inside. Moving further into the tent, the sight of a queen-sized bed nearly made her gasp but luckily, she caught herself.

"Do you mind sharing or I could just sleep on the flo-"

"No, it's alright." Guilt stirred within her when she realized what he was about to say.

"Gotcha'. Let's sleep then." A pat came down on her back.

She watched Joker climbed onto the bed and rested his head on the pillow with his arms crossed behind it. With a side of his mouth quirked up at her in silent laughter, he patted the empty spot beside him.

_They are depending on you, damn it. _She breathed. _Okay, this isn't so bad… At least you're sleeping next to a handsome man…God, this is freaking-_

"C'mon, Star, you need the sleep for tomorrow's training."

"Alright." Estella walked over to the other side of the bed and awkwardly slipped under its cover. Her eyes darted away from the ceiling to the man beside her, fully aware of the warmth he was giving off. It was awkward and comfortable at the same time.

She then slowly turned to rest on her side, only to be surprised to find herself staring right into a pair of purple eyes. "You can tell me what you dreamt tomorrow if you want to, Star." He suddenly reached out to pat her head before letting out a yawn.

"Okay." She threw a tiny smile. "Good night and thank you."

"No problem. Night."

**….**

* * *

><p>Estella hasn't slept yet. She was wide awake and busy to do so for the past twenty minutes. Her eyes have been roaming the tent for clues. She didn't dare to get out of bed as it might wake up the male. Once in a while, drifting into thoughts about this mission, SIGMA, her master, Sebastian and Brandon.<p>

Shaking her head when she realized she was drifting into thoughts again, she glanced over to the snoozing male to check that she hasn't woke him up with her shaking. The steady breathing from Joker made her heave a relieved sigh.

_Alright, focus. Anything related to children…_

Estella strained her eyes to make out things in the dark just like she did earlier. The moonlight easing in was her only help.

It wasn't long before a photo frame across piqued her interest.

The few short figures she could make out in the photo using the poor light told her they were children. She crawled towards it to have a better look. Luckily, the photo wasn't that far for her to see.

Her eyes landed at the teenage male in the middle– disheveled orange mid-length hair and purple eyes.

_He looks familiar…_

She turned to look at the sleeping male. Her heart sank. She found out why. That boy was Joker.

Disappointed to find out that the figures she was looking at were the circus's crews when they were children, she slid back under the blanket.

Estella sighed.

Her master might be right about this circus having nothing to do with the missing children afterall.

**….**

* * *

><p>"Hey, strip down! I'll wash you back." Freckles cheerfully offered the bewildered boy, holding a water-filled bucket in his hand.<p>

Ciel glanced at their 'bathroom' in shock. In this 'bathroom', everyone around him was soaked half-naked in towels tied around their waists, dumping water over themselves. None seemed to be affected by the fact that they were bathing outside in the winter.

Ciel gaped. "Out…Outdoors in the dead of winter?! And with that water?!"

"Of course!" Freckles leapt forward and began trying to strip him. "If you just splash down and wipe yourself off immediately, you'll be fine!"

"Stop it!"

"C'mon!"

"Hey!"

Ciel tried to push off Freckles who was surprisingly strong for someone shorter than him.

"Just strip already!"

"No-"

The two fell onto a tub of water, tipping it over as they rolled off onto the hard ground beside it.

Ciel went rigid when its shockingly cold water fell on them.

Freckles who was hovering over him, grumbled "Blimey! You even got me soaked, fightin' back like that!"

"…Won't you move away?" Ciel crawled away from him and stood up, only to be hit by a breeze.

"Heh…" Ciel turned to that voice which sounded like Dagger's with eyebrows raised. "You've quite the body there though you don't look like it."

He nodded stiffly at the man, beaming in the inside. "Uhhh…yeah, thanks."

"Geez, since we're soaked so just give it up already and strip." Ciel's eye widened when he felt someone who sounded like Freckles lift up the back of his shirt.

Ciel reached his hand over to his back to stop him.

However, it was too late.

"Smile…"

Ciel's heart skipped a beat.

"Let go of me!" He yelled through gritted teeth, stalking away.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

Estella who was busy tying the shoelaces of her knee-high boots glanced up in surprise when a dripping-wet Ciel stomped into the tent. "What…"Her eyes drifted downwards and widened. Surprise and embarrassment grew along with the blush on her face. His soaked white button-down shirt stuck onto a nicely-toned body she never thought a scrawny-looking person like him would have.

"Enjoy what you're seeing?" A smirk was evident in his voice. "But at least, please do it with your mouth close, tha-thank….ACHOO!"

Closing her mouth when she realized that she was indeed gaping, she brought her gaze up and rolled her eyes at him. "Change out of that already! Seriously…"

"Of course. Don't tell me what to do."

"Fine." Estella went silent and went on to tie up the rest of the shoelaces.

Ciel turned away from her and yanked open the wardrobe he shared with Freckles. Crouching down to his briefcase, he flipped it open and pulled out the first set of shirt and pants he spotted.

As he was about to shut the briefcase close, a sudden gasp came.

"Phantomhive…"

"What is it?"

"I-Is that what the cult gave you?"

Ciel's eye widened in shock. His hand flew to his back to cover the cursed mark.

_Crap! This shirt's practically transparent now! Damn it, I forgot! _

"Can I see it…?" He flinched when he felt a hand timidly touched the hand he was using to cover the said mark.

Ciel whipped around with a glare which made her jump.

"Mind your own business. Don't you have practice to go to?"

She then suddenly went uncharacteristically quiet. The way her eyes bored coldly into him was making him uncomfortable.

"Blancbas-"

"A sensitive topic." Her gaze on him softened. "I understand..."

He watched her stiffly walk out of their tent in silence with eyebrows raised.

* * *

><p><strong>….<strong>

His skeletal hand drew open the curtain. The room he was looking into has target boards all lined up in a circle around a girl. She was too busy firing shots at the boards to notice his presence.

Beast's earlier question resonated in his head.

"_Joker, are you sure about lettin' the newcomers join the show so early? Are they good enough to even show their faces?"_

Even though he had reassured her that he has seen the talents in them, he still wanted to check that he was right. Were they really ready? Was he right about them?

Joker focused his attention on the girl once again.

The girl suddenly drew back with the two guns given by him firmly held by her sides.

_What's she waitin' for?_ He frowned.

Abrupt and silent, she raised up the guns once again and placed an arm over another in a 'X' pattern. Then she started.

After two simultaneous 'bangs' at the two target board to her left and right, her arms swung in action. Swinging her arms at target boards to target boards, 'bangs' echoed noisily throughout the tent. He 'wowed' when she suddenly leapt up into the air and somersaulted. Firing deftly at the boards from all four directions as she plummeted head-down towards the ground, she did another turn in the air and landed on one knee with a dramatic end.

The girl's eyes then widened with something that looked like disbelief as though she was too surprised by her own stunt.

The skeletal hand holding onto the curtain let go as its owner spun away in glee.

Joker grinned excitedly as he strolled away from the tent, leaving the girl to gape at herself. "Dangerous and…cool. Definitely a fresh act!" He clapped delightfully. "Looks like Black and Star are ready for Wednesday's show afterall~"

**….**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

**This chapter's lame! Gahhh! ABUGREJYNJFNHRS!**

**Anyway…I would like to warn you that Ciel might become more 'OOC' as the story goes along. Well, 'OOC' to some of you. To me, it's not so because I would hate to make my characters OOC. **

**The so-called 'OOC' in Ciel is actually just a side of Ciel you've never seen before. A side when he starts to like someone so much. C'mon, he's a teenager too, even with how his past made him, it's natural to act the way he is – a little flirty and uhhh…mushy? Yeah whatever. He's **_**human**_** afterall, alright? So before you decided to scold me for the OOCness, think about what I wrote about it first. Thank you.**

**And please head to my profile for a poll. PLease kindly do it, I am curious! O**

**Okay, enough with all yakking. Let's get this story to 500 reviews before it reaches its 30****th**** chapter. Please review! Thank you.**

**xoxo,**

**SavageTrickster**


	30. That Butler, Let the Curtains Rise

**Chapter 29**

* * *

><p>Sebastian shut the chest box close and glanced over at his master who he witnessed picking up a photo frame. The way his master's visible eye widened told him that his master had found something interesting.<p>

"I see. So you found something in that photograph, Young Master." Sebastian approached the boy.

"Yeah. Sebastian, do you notice anything?"

Holding the frame in a steady gaze, Sebastian's interest piqued at the bald plump man who looked like he was in his sixties. "You are right." Ciel's eye went over to the man's ring Sebastian pointed at. "I have seen same hallmark as the one on this signet ring recently."

The boy's eyebrows rose in surprise at the ring he failed to notice. It was barely noticeable. "Signet ring? Hallmark? You can even see small things like that?"

"Yes, I am certain that this hallmark is…the same as the one at the base of Ms. Beast's prosthetic leg."

"This man has my attention." Ciel announced, placing the frame back to the shelf.

Sebastian gazed down at his pocket watch. "Young Master, it's almost time. This will be all for today."

"There's still Joker's tent. Since Blancbaston wasn't able to get out much yesterday night…" Ciel snatched the pocket watch from the butler's hand. "We're short on time, but we do have eight minutes." He took off in a run, tossing the pocket watch back to Sebastian. "When the encore is over, return here ahead of the troupe members and release the snakes! Alright?!"

Sebastian blinked in surprise as he watched Ciel disappear outside the tent.

"Yes, my lord."

**….**

* * *

><p>The Earl rose at an eyebrow at the size of Joker's tent when he entered it, and head towards the trunk across him with a shrug of his shoulders. Lifting its lid up, he grimaced at the mess he found in the trunk. Pushing the pile of clothes aside, he peeled off a pair of socks that was lying on a letter which instantly caught his attention. Curiosity burned into that document as he picked it up.<p>

_Expensive…_ He noted as he ran his fingers across it.

Flipping the letter over, his gaze fell onto the words written on it.

'_**Tom, the Piper's son.**_'

Eye lingering on that, Ciel pulled out the paper sticking out of it. Two very familiar words struck him cold - 'Ciel Phantomhive'.

His eye widened as dread dawned upon him.

"Don't tell me my cover has been blown..." A whisper of horror escaped from his mouth.

**….**

* * *

><p>Estella scowled at the little piece of crumpled paper in her hand as she read.<p>

_We're leaving now. Cover is blown. Meet us outside the circus, where we alighted from the carriage on the first day. At any cost, do NOT get caught!_

_-Phantomhive_

Crushing the paper in her hand, she walked over to the cupboard her master and Freckles shared and threw its doors open.

Her shoulders slumped. "What the heck…?" She sighed at the empty spot Ciel's suitcase used to be in. This was no sick joke.

Shutting the furniture close, she dejectedly sat down on her bed. _Stupid Phantomhive. Always putting me in crazy situations! How the hell am I going to get out of here without getting caught? _

"Urghhh, it's now or never." Taking a deep breath, the redhead whipped around to face the doorway of the tent with a determined glare. "Okay, you can do this. Heh, escape is your middle name, isn't it? This is going to be peanuts! "

**….**

* * *

><p>Estella kept her breathing as quietly as possible, her movements as silently as possible. However, all that didn't stop her from cussing at her master.<p>

She crouched behind the few crates, peeking over them. Her eyes swept across the compound for movements, for crews.

_Coast clear._

She sprinted across the compound to the next batch of crates and crouched down again. She looked ahead calculatedly only to be delighted to find herself a just few feet away from the gate.

She was close, so damn close! Maybe 'Escape' _was _indeed her middle name afterall.

Totally caught up in her excitement at the sight of the gate, she nearly walked out of her hiding spot without checking if not for a voice.

"_Where've Joker gone to?_"

Estella ducked, crouching so low that she was practically hugging the ground beneath. The surge of adrenaline coursing in her blood was driving her heart to pound like mad against her ribcage, trying to mute her raspy breathing was not easy.

"_To Father. Regardin' the newcomers, I think. They're suspicious, 'specially those three…._"

She froze.

"_Black only. The kids seem fine."_

"_Yea, yea…He did everthin' very perfectly. Too good to be true, like many'll say."_

Estella raised an eyebrow, silently agreeing with the speaker. Indeed, even _she _found Sebastian too perfect, and she couldn't sit well with that fact. He's too perfect,_ flawless_.

She tuned in to their conversation.

"_The first-tier is plannin' to do somethin' to them, it seems they…"_

Estella perked up when she realized that their voices were getting further away.

Blinking owlishly at the direction the voices disappeared to, she uttered under her breath. "Looks like our cover are really blown."

Once she checked that the compound was clear again, she made a final dash towards the gate.

**….**

* * *

><p>Sebastian watched boredly as his master continued to pace back and forth.<p>

"Isn't she taking too long?" The boy glanced over at him with frustration clearly written on his face.

"Perhaps she was caught…?" Sebastian suggested calmly.

Sebastian's interest piqued when he witnessed how the scowl on his master's face faltered a little to a worried frown. However, it disappeared as quickly as it came.

He has always suspected that there was something between those two. "It is wise that we leave without her. Mission comes first afterall, don't you agree?"

The boy snapped his head over to him, jolting upright in shock. It seemed that his words have struck something. "I…"

Things couldn't be any more interesting than this.

The boy glanced back to the direction of the circus and back at him. He looked torn.

Silence lapsed between them as the boy's gaze swept across the forest behind him. A sigh, the boy glanced back at him. "Alright-"

"I'm here!" A flash of red burst out of the trees into the clearing and skidded to a stop behind the boy.

_She made it…_ Sebastian mused.

He didn't fail to catch the relieved look which quickly turned to an indifferent one on his master's face.

"Took you long enough, Blancbaston_._"

Sebastian's eyes narrowed at the indifference in the boy's voice.

Humans…

"Let's get going. Into the carriage now." The cloak draped over his master's shoulders swished when he suddenly whipped around.

Sebastian watched the boy stalk past him. "Sebastian, to that manor."

"Yes, my lord."

**….**

* * *

><p>On the quiet and deserted compound they stood on, a manor stood in the dull light that shone from the hovering full moon.<p>

"This is his manor?" Ciel scowled at the building.

The manor was in total darkness, it looked abandoned. "I think it's empty…" Estella pointed out, sweeping her gaze across its windows for signs of life.

"Sebastian," Ciel waved his butler over, "Do you smell them?" He whispered, eying Estella who glanced over at them curiously.

"I do indeed." Sebastian's eyes narrowed at the manor."I cannot tell whether they are all here…but those present are still alive." He kept his voice low.

"Are we going in?" The two glanced over to see Estella glaring at them. "And stop whispering like that, it's getting on my nerve. What's up with you two anyway? What are you hiding?"

"Nothing. None of your-"

"We bid ye welcome to our home." All heads turned to watch the manor's doors swing open.

A figure was at the doors. "We have been waiting for you…Earl Phantomhive."

Then it stepped out.

"_Joker_!"

**….**

* * *

><p>Estella followed them numbly into the next room. Images of hanging puppets from the entrance hall they just exited deeply etched in her memory and they chilled her to the bones.<p>

She glanced over to Joker with a look of disbelief. She still couldn't believe he was involved in the disappearances of those children. Joker was too nice a man to do such of things.

"You've come at last…" Estella drew her attention away from him and to the other door of the dining hall they just entered."….Earl Phantomhive!" An almost full-bodied bandaged man emerged into the room on a wheelchair pushed by two kids at his sides.

Estella scowled at the man when she noticed how void and dull the kids looked. What on earth did this bastard do to them?

"Aahh…It is like a dream to have you so close to me!" She grimaced in disgust at how the man was staring at the male beside her. His visible eye was boring so hungrily and...excitedly into her master.

She turned to Ciel, making a gesture at her head. "Loony~"

Ciel raised an eyebrow at her, slightly amused at her antic. Ignoring the very intent stare from the man, he kept his cool. "…Are you Baron Kelvin, sir?"

"I am. I must say your formality is making feel self-conscious!" Pink dusted the man's cheeks. Then he suddenly perked up like a thought has struck him. "Anyway! I have prepared a feast for you."

He clapped and that was all that did the trick to have the set of giant doors he entered through to swing open.

**….**

* * *

><p><em>What does this rat want to show me?<em> Ciel frowned at the baron who was sitting a few seats away.

"There are more victims here than what the police records have stated, Phantomhive."

Ciel turned to the redhead who stood beside his seat and nodded. "I know."

"Welcome, Earl Phantomhive." The said boy turned his attention to the front to find himself staring at a stage similar to the circus. Joker bowed when his eye landed on him. "This evening we shall 'specially convey ye to a world of dazzling delights."

As in on cue, masked children dressed up in circus costumes walked onto the stage.

Ciel glanced over with an irked look to the baron who was clapping delightfully at their appearance.

"First, we have a tightrope walker." Joker pointed at the little girl standing on the top of a tightrope set-up.

All eyes averted to where he pointed.

Ciel watched blankly as the girl place her right foot on the thick rope.

"With no lifeline or anything, this is the real deal."

Then it happened.

Without warning, the girl fell off the rope.

She was like a puppet.

No emotions, no response.

There was no scream, no cry…nothing.

She was just dropping like that.

No response at all, even when she landed with a loud 'crack' or even when she was lying in her pool of blood.

"Wh… "Ciel jolted upright in his seat.

He averted his gaze away from the bloodied girl in disgust. He didn't fail to catch the pained look on Joker's face.

Laughter and applause from baron rendered him speechless. That man clearly thought that was entertaining and hilarious.

"Next is a wild animal tamer."

Ciel glanced back to the stage in horror to see a growling lion advancing a boy who stood unresponsively in the presence of a danger. Growling dangerously, the lion bared its fangs at the boy.

"A fierce lion will…"

The muscles of the lion's all four limbs clenched and that was the only warning before it leapt towards the boy.

His heart quickened its pace for the little boy.

Its wide-opened jaws were inching nearer and nearer to the boy's head as seconds passed.

Too caught up in horror, he failed to hear the gunshot that rang throughout the room.

The lion was only a hair away when it suddenly fell back as though it was pushed back by some invisible force. It landed beside the boy on its side. It gave out a weak growl and that was all before it slumped against the floor.

Ciel stared at the motionless beast on the stage in shock, trying to grasp the situation. Who killed…

His eye swiveled to the side and widened.

There stood his red-haired servant with a smoking gun raised up at the direction of the lion. She was glaring dangerously at the dead animal. If looks could kill, hers would be lethal.

"Blancbaston…"

Whipping her furious gaze over to the baron, he watched her stalk over to the man who returned her a dazed happy look.

"You sick, _sick _man."

**….**

* * *

><p>"You sick, <em>sick <em>man." Estella hissed, roughly grabbing the baron by his collars.

She rose up the gun in her hand when she sensed Joker rushing forward. "Come any closer, and I'll shoot." She shot the approaching man a warning look.

"You eyes…"

Estella glanced back to the baron only to find him staring at her, her eyes, with an awed look. "What, you crazy old man?" She growled.

"A blue that's gentle and sharp at the same time. Just like…the color of ice. Cold and…beautiful."

She slapped away the hand he raised up towards her face. "Don't. Touch. Me."

Her glare went unnoticed when the man turned excitedly to Joker. "Joker, add her to my collection!"

Incredulity appeared on her face. "What the hell, you-"

"No, you won't, Baron Kelvin," Ciel with a dark look stepped in. "Vulgar, ugly, perverted. The lowest form of human life is what I, the Watchdog of the Queen, will get rid of!"

"E…Earl." The baron stared wide eye at him.

The look on her master face was so angry and dark that she swore he could just pierce through the baron with it. "Baron Kelvin. Where are the kidnapped children? Tell me or I'll have her to finish you." He placed a hand on Estella's shoulder as an emphasis.

Estella scowled when the baron gazed up at the boy excitedly. It was disgusting.

"You want to meet those children? They are in the basement. I can take you there right away."

**….**

* * *

><p>The baron led them down a corridor, looking excited despite of the gun Estella pointed at his head. "To walk beside you is like a dream come true!"<p>

"Don't waste your breath. Just lead me to where the children are quickly." Ciel ordered impatiently.

"Umm…I'm sorry." A smile crept across the baron's face. "But I'm glad. Since that day, I have always regretted it. Why couldn't I be at your side that day in that place…"

Estella glanced over at him with a weird look. _This man is a serious loony. Why isn't he in the mental hospital yet?_

Ciel turned to the baron with a frustrated scowl when they came to stop at a set of giant doors. "That day? My…side? What are you actually babbling about?"

"No matter how much I regretted it, time wouldn't turn back." As if Ciel didn't say anything, the baron continued dreamily. "But I realized. If I can't turn it back, then I should just do it once again."

The two kids who were pushing the wheelchair the baron was on, rushed towards the doors and pushed them apart.

"Look!" The baron gestured eagerly. "It took me four years to prepare this. Just like that day four years ago!"

Ciel swung his attention to the front only to find himself staring at the room of his nightmare.

**….**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of chapter-<strong>_


	31. That Butler, Safe and Sound

**Chapter 30**

* * *

><p>Ciel had never thought he would ever see this room again. No, he <em>did not <em>want to ever see this room again.

This setup being the exact copy of that room four years ago made him feel worse. Even the splats of dull red blood that he remembered seeing near one of the lamps from the virulent cult was there in the same spot where the one from years ago was. The cages were filled with children, emaciated like how the other children and him were. This room has the Faustus circle too.

Not a single detail was missed.

This fact was utterly disturbing.

He couldn't bring himself to gaze away from it. The temperature was no help; it was chilling him to his very core. Cold tingles of shock and fear was traipsing up and down his spine, he had to clench his hands into fists in attempt to suppress his trembling - no way was he going to show weakness to anyone here.

Then abruptly, something warm wrapped itself around his left wrist. He, however, did not feel it until a whisper drifted into his ear.

"It's okay, Phantomhive…" Ciel jumped and turned to that with an icy glare which faltered when he realized it belonged to Estella. Her eyes held understanding and concern. "You're…You're not there anymore." She shook her head with a bitter smile.

She felt his muscles relax as his left hand slipped out of its clenched form. "No, I'm…" Ciel seemed unsure of what to say to her.

In the end, he just settled with a curt nod. He pulled his wrist free from her grip and turned away.

His face darkened when he turned to the baron. "Why." It took him tremendous effort not to shoot the baron and flee from the room.

Baron Kelvin giggled. "I'm jealous of those who were able to spend that day with you. It was you who killed them, right?" He leaned forward in his wheelchair. "Please, I beg you! Let me be a part of it all! I have prepared everything!"

The baron threw his arms wide open, beaming at the place of his creation. "The room of the ceremony."

Ciel glanced around the room and returned to the baron with a glare. He could feel himself trembling once again

"The sacrificial lambs."

His fingers were twitching with the urge to raise the gun in his hand to fire at the baron.

"And the last piece, Earl…"

And that he snapped. In the paroxysm of anger, he pulled the trigger.

**….**

* * *

><p>"What the…" Estella gasped as she watched the baron fall from his wheelchair.<p>

"Phantomhive…" She glanced back to Ciel who looked like he was about to hyperventilate. His hand that held his gun was shaking uncontrollably.

"_FATHER!_"

She whipped around to that, only to be shock to see an enraged Joker charging at them with a glinting dagger.

In the act of instinct, she threw herself in front of Ciel, facing Joker with her gun raised up at him. "Get back, Phantomhive!"

Her fingers which were about to close around its trigger suddenly stopped when the abrupt memory of Joker from that night struck her. Was she really going to kill him? Her heart sank at a realization.

_No…can't kill him. _

Quickly, Estella kept the gun in its holster and whipped out a dagger out of another.

_Fight. _

Shifting her legs to get herself to a fighting stance, she held the dagger out, preparing herself to strike.

Joker's eyes narrowed on her. "Star, never thought that we would ever cross blades. I-"

Suddenly, blood was gushing out of the arm he was using to hold his dagger.

Lowering her dagger, Estella gasped in shock at the man who was now squirming in pain on the floor and to his detached arm beside him. "_Ahhhhh….!_"

"Estella, it is good to see you so dedicated to your duty as a bodyguard, but…" she tore her eyes off the man to Sebastian who she realized was the one who amputated Joker from the bloodied dagger in his hand, "…as long as I'm here, protecting the Young Master would be done by me."

"And Joker," Sebastian smiled down at the screaming man. "Please do not disturb my master."

"_Arggghhhh…!" _Joker continued screaming in pain.

Estella gazed down at the man with an apologetic look. "You didn't have to amputate him, Sebastian…" She glanced up at Sebastian disapprovingly.

"There's no need to sympathy for the enemy."

"But-"

"_It hurts, Earl!"_

All attention fell onto the fallen baron.

**….**

* * *

><p>"It hurts, Earl!" Blood poured out from the baron's mouth as he exclaimed. "It's…soo painful!" Baron Kelvin dragged his body towards Ciel and desperately clutched onto his legs."Please…I beg you, if you're going to kill me, do it just like you did to everyone else on that day."<p>

Ciel's face held nothing. Nothing at all.

Estella's eyes widened. _Like what he did to everyone else…? Phantomhive killed…_

Ciel freed a leg from the man's grasp and crudely stepped on the man's head. He snorted, pushing his feet harder against his head. "The same as them?"

A hand flew up to Estella's mouth as she stared at Ciel with wide eyes. The person standing in front of her was not the Ciel Phantomhive she knew for almost a year. This Phantomhive was dangerous, cold and cruel. She could comprehend why, but still…this was new. She certainly did not like it, and it… was scaring her.

The gun in his hand clicked as Ciel raised its muzzle at the baron's face. "Kneel down like a worm then… and beg the demon to do it."

_Demon?_ Her heart did a somersault at that word. She tilted her head in puzzlement. _Beg the demon to do it…? What is he talking about-_

"PLEASE DON'T KILL HIM!" Estella whipped over to Joker to see him shakily raising himself off the floor. "Despite what he is, he saved us! We were abandoned by our parents and our country. He saved us from the fear of starvation. Many brothers and sisters of ours are still at the workhouse. If he dies, we can't live on. And that's why-"

"You kidnapped those children?" Ciel interrupted caustically, his eye cut over to Joker. "You have obeyed this man in order to survive…by sacrificing others?"

Joker shut his eyes in anguish. "Ah…yeah." He lowered his head dejectedly. "For kids like us, England was a living hell. We didn't have money to buy food or protect our friends. We had nothing."

Estella gazed at the man sadly. _So much pain and sufferings. Everybody's hurting. _

"However, Father saved us from the pile of rubbish. He gave us hands and legs, allowing us to protect what's most precious to us. That's why we decided to live. Even though, it meant living another kind of hell. I knew from the start that it was wrong but…"

"You are not wrong."

Joker's eyes snapped open and glanced up at Ciel. "Huh?"

"You fought to protect _your_ world, isn't that good enough?" Ciel turned to face Joker. "Afterall, justice in this world is just a bunch of principles made by those with power to suit themselves. No one really thinks of others, you will lose everything if you can't keep up."

_Indeed. A cruel world we live in…_

"Only two kinds of people exist in this world- those who steal and those who are stolen from." Estella stared at her master solemnly. _And I'm one of the kind who was stolen from. _"So then...today I just stole your future, that's all..."

Silence trailed after him.

Estella's eyes widened in surprise when Joker suddenly fell back on the floor, laughing. "Hahahahahaha! Exactly! However…you will also have some important things stolen from you tonight."

"What?"

"My fellow circus members are paying a visit to your manor tonight."

**….**

* * *

><p>They reached the Phantomhive manor in the middle of the night; the winter air was unnaturally chilly and freezing due to their insufficient clothes. Cursing the cold, they stepped back to the edge of the thick forest behind them.<p>

"This is it? It's so big. Seems it might be a tough job to find the room of our target." Dagger could see his breath rising out in thin wisps as he breathed out heavily, clearly visible under the glow of the full moon.

"Let's spilt up then. Wendy and I will start from the top." The sound of footsteps was muffled by the snow beneath as two of his circus members sprinted away. Winter could be vexatious and be a hinder most of the time, however, tonight was an exception. It was the perfect cover for them.

"Big sis, let's start from over there." Dagger glanced over his shoulder when no answer came. "Big sis?"

Beast seemed disturbed and uncertain. "Ah yeah, I'm coming."

"See ya, Jumbo!" Dagger called out to the silent bald man as Beast and he rushed off toward the manor.

"Ah." The man nodded curtly, staring out at the quiet manor before taking off himself.

_Seriously, this place is massive. And we must finish before dawn…_

**….**

* * *

><p>"We circus members are professionals. We eliminate anyone who crosses our path while on a mission, no matter who or what." Joker had a smug smirk."I wonder how many people will be killed while they search the manor for you, Earl."<p>

Estella's face scrunched into a frown at the thought of the four who were like her family in danger. She knew they were fully capable of protecting themselves, but it was still worrisome. Her master's fiancé was currently spending a night there too. Why wasn't her master worrying? The look of indifference seemed to come across loud and clear said that he wasn't, and that puzzled her.

"Killed huh?"

"Yeah, even your servants won't be spared."

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "My servants?"

Joker's smug smirk drooped and glanced over alarmed, when Sebastian abruptly chuckled. "What's so darn funny?" He demand with frustration.

A condescending look came across Ciel's face as he rapped his cane against the floor. "Just who do you think you are dealing with?..."

Snapping her attention over to Ciel, Estella's eyes widened in realization.

"…They are the servants of Phantomhive!"

Guilt struck her like a hammer. _Yeah, how can I be so stupid! _

Her eyes darkened with a war of emotions passing across her features and finally settled with a fierce glint. Her hands curled into fists. _Who am I to doubt my comrades' abilities? _

She grinned.

"So am I! Who do you think you are underestimating us, Joker?"

**….**

* * *

><p>"<em>They are the private army me and Sebastian picked for employment."<em>

Jumbo gazed down at the gardener he just brought down with his fist. The gardener was lying prone on the dirt ground, blood was continuously leaking from the wound he created. There was no way this young man was going to recover so quickly from the blows he just delivered. Nobody has been able to get up from all that before.

"It can't be helped." Jumbo gazed down at his fist and shrugged. "Forgive me." Those two words, however, held no meaning.

_One down._

Jumbo took a step towards the manor and was about to take another when he felt a tug on his cloak. "They'd get mad at me, wouldn't they." He heard. He glanced over his shoulder with narrowed eyes to only have them widening.

"Young Master told me. And Sebastian also…" The gardener he thought was supposed to stay on the ground now stood behind him. The gardener seemed oblivious to the trail of blood that was about get into his left eye. He simply smiled. "To never ever let someone go inside while they are away."

It was too late for Jumbo to dodge the incoming fist.

**….**

* * *

><p><em>Joker choked. "Wha…"<em>

The two sprinted down the stairs, desperately trying to dodge the statues that were thrown at them by Finny with his super strength.

"What..What the hell are they?!" Dagger struggled with speech, trying to run as fast as his legs could carry him. "No matter how you go… about it, this place is… strange!"

"Y-Yeah! Hurry, let's get to that room! The Earl might be hiding there!"

**.…**

* * *

><p><em>Grinning at Joker in a charmingly disarming way, Estella's eyes practically twinkled with pride. "To protect the Phantomhive family's secrets and pride."<em>

"Getting down the stairs sure was hard huh, Mr. and Mrs. Goose."A voice greeted the moment they pushed open the door and stepped in. Both whipped their heads to the source, shocked to find Bard standing by a counter, sifting flour into a bowl as if they were no intruders.

"Welcome to the kitchen." Bard said calmly, sifting the flour. "This is the end of the tour."

"Like you can afford to say that, facing us unarmed!" Beast sneered violently as she threw out her whip, slashing it towards the chef.

"Idiots." Bard evaded the attack effortlessly with smugness.

As Bard was crouching down to evade it, he reached under the counter. "The kitchen is the chef's holy place where even the butler can't raise his voice to him. There are also a lot of tools that the butler doesn't know about. For example…" He straightened with a large war weapon and fired.

Bullets flew as he shot continuously.

"CAREFUL, BIG SIS!"

**….**

* * *

><p><em>Ciel nodded and faced Joker with a meaningful look. "Those…"<em>

The air was cleared of dancing smoke. The shooting has ceased.

A relieved Beast soon turned distraught when she found out that Dagger had shielded her from the bullets with his body. He was severely torn with many bullet holes, and was on the brink of death.

"I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!"

**….**

* * *

><p>"…<em>are the Phantomhive family servants."<em>

The room once known as the kitchen caved in around Beast, dust and flour came up in clouds after it. She glanced around at the chaos around helplessly and up to the three servants, glowering at the middle one.

"I told you from the start right? The kitchen holds many secrets. Do you know the story of the Minnesota wheat flour that blew eighteen people into the afterlife?" Bard smirked down at her. "Well, enjoy that flour. I'm done with the pre-cooking."

"What are you doing?!"

Bard threw in a lighted match. "Going to a safe place. As for you, do find your companions in the afterlife. Goodbye."

"Wait, you-"

The explosion went off even before the woman could finish her sentence.

"Sorry, miss." The trio turned away. "But these are our jobs."

**….**

* * *

><p>Her heart was crying for that man who lay bloodied and amputated. That Joker who stood strong and confident in front of his crowd was a different man. Now, a broken man who was desperately clinging onto his life that was going to fall apart any moment was all she could see. She knew deep down that he was someone who could and would never find genuine peace.<p>

Estella sighed heavily as she watched the scene play out before her.

"The Phantomhive house is a phantom that exists solely for the purpose of eradicating the Queen's distresses." Sebastian glanced down at Joker with a nonchalant smile. "If you step into that den, you can never return into the light."

"Private army?" Joker who was lying supine on the floor, turned to lie on his stomach. From the skeptical scowl on his face, it was clear that he did not believe whatever the butler said."Those guys are pros; don't think you can easily-"

"You're free to believe it or not." Sebastian mused, twirling the dagger in his hand. "However, don't forget that these are capable people selected by me." The butler ceased the twirling of the dagger and pointed its blade at him.

His heart sank with dread. The look on the butler's face came loud and clear that he was speaking the truth. Joker squeezed his eyes close; face grimaced with remorse and pain. He has sent his family to death.

_Please, please live._

"I wonder…" Joker opened his eyes and glanced up with a bitter look. "What we should have done. Like the nursery rhyme…We were 'capable of playing only one song.' But if…if we had been born in another country," He started to cry, heaving with sadness. "We and our bodies…wouldn't have been like...like this." His body shook to his painful sobs.

"Don't cry so shamefully." Ciel said unmoving, gazing blankly at the floor beneath him."The world is not kind to anyone."

Joker shakily raised up his head to look at the Earl. "Smile…."

"My name is Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel's eye swiveled over with a sharp look, his annoyance making an appearance in the form of narrowed eyes and guarded body language. "And that alone."

Silence that followed after seemed to have an emphasizing effect on his averment.

"Ah, sorry to make you wait for the supplement…"All heads snapped over to the intrusion.

Ciel came to recognize him as Doctor from the circus.

Doctor looked from faces to faces as he rolled in on his wheelchair. "Huh? You're…Ah, I see. Black, Smile and Star."

Estella and Ciel narrowed their eyes simultaneously while Sebastian just returned the stare emotionlessly.

"So what Joker said was true." Doctor who they always thought was handicap suddenly stood up. "But even worse than cops that can't be bought; we have the rumored Queen's lapdog." He, for someone who was 'handicap', climbed down the stairs to the circle they are in, perfectly well.

"Doctor…" It was apparent that even Joker had thought so too. "Your legs…you're walking…."

The bespectacled man gave him a wave of nonchalant, giving a dry chuckle. "My legs? Ah, there's actually nothing wrong with me. Kids like you wouldn't get all jumpy if I just sat down."

His eyes swept over and widened at the baron who laid wounded a few feet behind Ciel. "Baron Kelvin!?" He rushed over and inspected the said man's wound. "Ah…this is bad. How awful, a patron who could understand my ideals."

"Ideals?" Sebastian questioned.

"Yes. For a very long time, I was searching for the perfect artificial limb and wanted to continue its development."

Doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully and gave the baron's wound a calculated look before straightening upright to meet Sebastian with an excited look.

_Oh great, another loony._ Estella's eyes rolled heavenward. _And this one is going for a story, huh?_

"After all of my research, I was able to make the finest materials possible!" Doctor raised his arms dramatically. "It was lighter and sturdier than wood and more beautiful than the mineral characteristics of ceramics I had made something that no one had ever made before. However, gathering the materials was difficult task."

"Indeed," Sebastian butted in, rubbing his chin as though he was also enthusiastic about the man's lifework. "Your handmade artificial limbs have an enchanting feel to them. Like Chinese-made bone porcelain tableware."

Estella eyed the butler with a bored look. _Nice going, Seb, you just made the loony more excited._

It seemed to do the trick because the Doctor's eyes flared wider in surprise and delight. "Ah Black, you understand this beauty?! I'm sorry ,but can you not put it in the same league as bone porcelain made from mixed cow bones?"

Estella's face scrunched into a disgusted frown._ I didn't know they are made of bones…Yuck. _

"That's right, you said it was made from special materials?" Sebastian prompted.

"Yes, yes. I can't get them anywhere but here." Doctor strolled over to one of the cages where the children were kept in."This way we don't have to put any effort into throwing them away somewhere. Don't you think it's the best way of recycling ever?" He gestured at the children with a smile.

Ciel swiveled his attention over to the children and quickly gathered what he meant. "No…way." Estella didn't fail to notice how Ciel paled drastically. He looked like he was going to be sick.

"No way. No way…" Estella glanced over to the voice when she realized it wasn't from Ciel this time. It was Joker. His eyes were wide with disbelief. "Wha..What did you see us…as…" He struggled between coughs.

Doctor blinked, completely not poignant. "See, I only get rejected like that. As long as they don't know the truth, everyone is always praising me about how wonderful they are." He sighed exasperatedly as he went on to open the cage door and dragged out a little girl. "But the baron was different. Searching for beauty was his highest motivation. He sponsored me with an abundance of materials and money, the best thinkable person."

"Don't you think it's normal to need the best materials in order to the best products?" The girl was just like the other children they've seen, void and dull. Like a puppet. "As far as society's idiots are concerned, there's no such thing as success without sacrifice." With a contempt look, the bespectacled man laid the child on the experiment table.

_Sick…Just like SIGMA. _Estella grimaced. _What is he- _

Raspy breathing from her left side caught her attention and had her turning to it to realize that it came from her master. The fear in his eyes and his trembling… It was so tangible that she swore she could even feel it radiating from him. It was a rare sight that made her heart skipped a beat. The usually phlegmatic Ciel Phantomhive she knew looked so vulnerable right now, and that was scaring her.

His reaction couldn't help but spark her curiosity. _What in the world did you have to go through last time….Phantomhive?_

**….**

* * *

><p>Ciel froze at the sight of a dagger Doctor pulled out from his coat. A gleam of horror flashed across his eye as he fixated on the dagger, heart pounding loudly with a fear that was palpable.<p>

"A cow's bones are fine, but a human's aren't?"

Cold sweat broke across his forehead as memories fought to surface in his head. The words to order the man to stop were stuck in his throat, the only thing he could feel rising up in his throat was bile.

"Who decided on that!?"

_Please someone….Please._ The memory of the pleas from his younger self resonated in his head as he watched Doctor brought down the dagger on the motionless little girl.

And then, the man sank the dagger into her flesh with a crazed look.

"_STOP IT!_" The haunting image of his own captor that mirrored him kept coming. "_STOP IT!_" His hands flew up to his head.

"Phantomhive!"

Ciel glared heatedly at his redhead servant when he saw her rush forward. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" He yelled in a booming voice, backing away.

Estella skidded to a stop, stunned for a moment. The worried look on Estella's face intensified. "I'm not going to hurt you, Phantomhive..." She took a step forward, raising an arm as though she was trying to touch him.

"Enough!" His hands tightened their grip on his hair as he backed away further, daring the girl to take another step forward. His asthma was acting up again.

"Please…"

His chest heaved and fell faster. "NO!"

"Young master." Ciel timidly swiveled his attention to the smooth silky voice to see Sebastian. Gently, Sebastian tugged Ciel towards him, tilting the boy's chin upward. "Is there something you are afraid of?" You're outside of the cage right now, My Lord." Sebastian reached up to the knots holding Ciel's eye patch.

Estella watched the scene unfold before her, breathing hard with anticipation. Curiosity was pricking at her.

"Come…." Her heart picked up its pace as Sebastian tugged on the knots.

She had always wondered about that eye patch but had never dared to question her master about it. What was she going to find behind that patch?

"Call my name."

At the same time, her insides suddenly started stirring. _What is this feeling?_ She swayed on her feet.

"Seb-Sebastian…"

She watched Ciel pushed himself away from the butler, trying to stand firm. She gazed the eye patch at his feet and glanced up only to realize that it was impossible with him facing away from her.

And then, he faced her direction with his right eye glowing dark purple. "_KILL THEM ALL!_"

She recognized that glowing mark in that eye, alright. "Phantomhive…" She gasped at that mark in his eye. She had read and seen it from the book Brandon gave her.

It was the Faustus contract mark…just like the one they were standing.

This means…

Estella whipped her head over to just in time to see Sebastian abruptly disappeared from his spot with unnatural speed, and came to a realization that she couldn't bring herself to believe.

She shuddered.

Sebastian Michealis was a demon.

**….**

* * *

><p><em>Sebastian is a demon. Sebastian is a demon. Sebastian is a demon. <em>This realization pounded harmoniously with her thumping heart.

A cry of surprise had her turning behind to see Sebastian stab his arm into Doctor. Gaping in horror, she watched the bespectacled man crumble to the ground. His blood was smeared and splattered all over the ground and the experiment table.

Estella swept her gaze over to Ciel across her with widened eyes. "Phantom…" However, the boy was too engrossed watching Sebastian do his destructive work. The deeply furrowed eyebrows on his face and wild look on his face made him seem like he has gone nuts. "…hive."

CRACK!

She turned to just in time to see Sebastian lift his feet away from the dead baron's head, the realization that Sebastian had cracked his skull made her nausea. Her jaws dropped open when he suddenly disappeared and appeared again beside Joker. With a swing of an arm, he gave the finishing blow to the man.

"It's done." Sebastian moved towards Ciel.

She followed, walking with caution to meet them. Her body swayed with weariness as she moved along. All these were taking a toll on her, draining her physically and mentally. Not to mention, it was already way past midnight. She was heaving with the desire to give in to sleep at the very moment, praying that this tormenting night would be over soon.

"NO, IT'S NOT!"

Estella glanced up with a puzzled look only to find herself being pointed at.

"DON'T FORGET _HER_!"

"Me…?" She stopped short with a look of disbelief. She almost forgot to breathe. "K-Kill… me?"

**….**

* * *

><p>Her heart felt like it has dropped into her stomach. Her thoughts were in turmoil. The wave of confusion, disbelief and pain came over her and crashed down her weary self, she suddenly cried.<p>

At the same time, adrenaline got her throwing her arms around the male. "Snap it out, Phantomhive!" She wept, burying her face into his chest. She was weeping for the children, Joker, her and mainly for Ciel. She has to save him.

"Don't touch me so casually!" He shoved her away.

She stumbled back, gazing up at him with a pained frown. Her breath hinged at how unfriendly and void his gaze was on her, as though he didn't recognize her.

_He thinks I'm going to hurt him…_She realized in horror.

"What are you standing there for, you stupid demon!?" Ciel snarled.

"My, my…" She snapped her head over to that to see Sebastian watching her intriguingly with a raised eyebrow."Guess I'll just head on with his order."

Estella stood there in silence. Obvious weariness was seeping into her features.

"Sebastian," She finally spoke. "…You can kill me." Her voice was quivering with resignation and weariness."However, do it only after I bring him back."

Sebastian's raised eyebrow merely quirked higher.

"Nobody is going to hurt you now." She raised a hand to wipe away her tears as she slowly turned to Ciel with a tearful glare. "You're safe now. Don't you understand, you idiot?"

Yanking the boy forward, she cupped his cheeks and pressed her lips against his.

Praying that he would come back.

Praying for this tormenting night to be over.

She has never, in the fourteen years of her life, yearned to see the morning light this much before. Not even when she was in SIGMA.

**….**

* * *

><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_


	32. Shades of Gray

**Chapter 31**

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><p>It seemed for an instance, time stilled, as if the two of them were alone for a tiny moment in their private world as their lips stayed on each other. Her skin was prickling with nerve-wrecking awareness, aware that Ciel's heavy angry pants have calmed, that he has calmed down. The sudden hitch of breath she felt under her lips suggested that he was beginning to be aware of what she was doing.<p>

Heat crept up her face as Estella quickly pulled her face away, her cheeks couldn't be any warmer when her eyes instinctively flickered up to his face to see him blinking at her as if trying to comprehend what she just did. Under his dazed questioning look, her mind was thrown into turmoil.

In a burst of adrenaline, she swung a fist at him, connecting it to his right cheek.

Estella was not sure what she was doing; she was acting on her embarrassment greater than her will. It was too late to stop herself, she could only watch Ciel fall back on the floor, groaning in pain. Guilt fluttered in her stomach at the bruising cheek Ciel reached up.

However, she was quick enough to cover up both embarrassment and guilt with a scowl before he could see them. "You are an idiot, you know that? Where is the Ciel Phantomhive I know? Are you _you_ now?"

Ciel merely rolled onto his back to her, plopping himself on his elbows in response. Her eyebrows furrowed at the blank look that greeted her. Guilt and worry spiked. Did she hit him too hard? Worry shot up. What if he got amnesia-

"What a punch, Blancbaston…" Her eyes snapped up to meet his face in surprise. Eyebrow twitching almost imperceptibly, his face held a mix of what she saw as grimace and amazement.

The worried look on her face melted away for a scowl to set in once again, trying not to turn pink at the sudden thought of she did earlier. "So you're back, huh." Her head jerked over to Sebastian, her eyes running over him nervously. "And… I suppose that punch I just gave your master would make you want to finish me off even more, Sebastian?"

At her words, Estella watched Sebastian flicker his eyes from Ciel to her face. The pair of endless crimson red pool shot a chill down her spine as she stared back at him; it was the same eyes she looked at almost every single day but her new discovery had unnerved her.

An amused smile curved Sebastian's mouth. "Not really."

"What are you waiting for, Sebastian?" she bit her lower lips nervously as she turned back to Ciel who was climbing to his feet. Was he still going to order for her death? "Burn this place!"

Her mouth was faster than her mind. "But you're supposed to have me killed!" Estella blurted out, eyes wide in realization the moment those words flew out. _Idiot! _She screamed at herself, clenching and unclenching her hands. _Are you that eager to die?!_

Estella gulped as she watch him drag his eyes over to her, staring at her silently like he was trying to digest what she just said. She badly wanted to move away from his burning gaze, but ironically her body refused to listen to her, it kept her rooted at where she stood.

As though some unpleasant thoughts had crossed Ciel's mind, his gaze darkened and averted to the spot beside her. "Wait for us in the carriage."

Her body still seemed to be incapable of moving itself, _Move!_ Her mind desperately willed her body, _Get out of here!_

Ciel turned away from her, without another glance. "Go."

His voice finally seemed to spur her to action, and she moved over the stairs, taking uncertain steps up. This place was doing strange things to her, things that she could not understand. She _needs_ to get out of this place.

**…..**

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><p>The sky was tinted with a lighter shade of blue, hinting the arrival of morning. Instead of usual fresh morning air, the red-tinged air was filled with a burning smell. The manor was wreathed in a funnel of black smoke and scarlet flames.<p>

Ciel's mouth was set in a grim line as he walked away from the burning manor with Sebastian, the heat from the fire smoothed over him like the satisfaction in him.

"Brother Joker! Brother Joker!" His eyes went up to meet its direction and spotted a distraught Freckles rushing forward. "Black! Smile! Brother is…"

"Dead." Sebastian interrupted, eyes regarding the girl with cruel amusement.

Ciel regarded the disbelief in her single widened eye with a stoic look, having nothing to say to her. He averted his gaze to their waiting carriage across the compound. "Take care of this, Sebastian." Without another word or glance at anyone, he made his way over to the vehicle.

"_WAIT, SMILE! WAIT!"_

"My name is Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel swiveled his head over his shoulder with a sharp look before continuing towards the carriage, placing his eye patch over his right eye.

**…..**

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><p>Estella sighed as she rubbed her aching temple. Her head was still throbbing, the turns of events in that manor have really taken a toll on her especially that daring kiss. Her eyes flew shut, weary and trying to comprehend her own action. That time, she did not think but was spurred by that yearning in her chest. Her eyebrows furrowed, she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Did she have feelings for…him? She jerked upright against the seat with a gasp.<p>

_No!_ Her cheeks turned pink as an image of Ciel shooting his annoyingly sexy smug smirk peeked out at her. _No freaking way! _

The loud click from the carriage door the figure outside caused did not register in her flustered mind, it was only until the door swing open when she realized its presence. Estella stilled, breath shuddering in surprise at the sight of the male who was responsible for the inner turmoil she was having. Her heart thumped faster under his gaze, her eyes flickered over to his eye patch, single-eyed gaze once again.

Estella gulped in discomfort as Ciel's visible dark blue eye continued to bore into her, still standing by the door. Silence was stretching between them as they stayed rooted to where they were.

_Stop staring! Do something, say something!_ Her mind screamed, but her body did not react to her brain's command.

Ciel was not doing any better, he was having his conflict with his motor system to deal with. He knew he needed to break eye contact to stop this strange staring thing with Estella and get onto the carriage, but his body felt statued and he still stood there, staring at her.

Finally, Ciel cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Hey Blancbaston..." He managed to croak, nodding a curt nod at her. At his own words, he dragged his gaze away and silently climbed onto the carriage, settling on the seat across the one she was on before shutting the door next to him.

Estella shifted nervously on her seat, clearing her throat. "So…where's Sebastian?" Her eyes flickered over to the window next to her.

Ciel cleared his throat again. "Taking care of something."

Their eyes met again when she realized that she could see nothing through a foggy window and, the carriage was engulfed in silence once again. She grew flustered, the earlier thoughts about Ciel was evoking in her mind.

She was behaving like typical hormonal teenage, she groaned inwardly. She envied her previous, easy relationship with Ciel where she could easily look him in the eye without feeling awkward and, where she did not have strange thoughts and feelings to falter her.

She needed to do something about this awkwardness now!

Estella feigned a yawn, shattering the silence. Luckily, her body was following her brain's command this time. "Damn, I'm tired! G-Good night!" She quickly spun away and leaned her head on the support of her seat, closing her eyes in a pretense of sleeping.

"Night."

It didn't take long for her limps to slacken with a heavy need of sleep, it really did seem that today's events had taken a toll on her. A harsh one.

Her heartbeat was still out of whack, still so much shaken by what they had shared, but slowly, she drifted to sleep, failing to notice how Ciel was watching over her sleeping form with a soft warm yet remorseful gaze.

**….**

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><p>Leaning fully in his chair and tipping his head back, Ciel stared at the ceiling of his study. He sighed, rubbing his eye. The day had been hectic, interminable etiquette lessons were stumbling over each other. He had just finished an appointment with Mdm Blexham to take up his measurements for his new suits. He was utterly relieved that he has finally cleared today's schedule, free to shut himself in his study to have some air.<p>

He sighed again.

It was almost three days since the night at the Baron Kelvin's manor, and ever since then, he and Estella have this slow, inexorable pressure build-up between them. This is was not something he had wanted, this awkward skittishness threatening their master-servant relationship. He had been feeling so terribly on edge…so restless and unwound, and had been like this for days now. What he did on that night had been haunting him incessantly ever since that happened.

He had ordered Sebastian for her death.

He remembered, alright. Things were red-hot and hazy ever since he watched Doctor plunged the dagger into the little girl. But even with a distraught mind, everything that had happened had been deeply registered in his head.

And then there was that…kiss.

Ciel leaned forward and raked his fingers in his hair. He couldn't quite place his finger on how he should feel about it; he would start feeling warm whenever he thought of it, just like now. Ciel let out a frustrated growl, turning to the window. He could not even look at her in the eye or talk properly, not without showing his disturbed emotions that could add up to the awkwardness.

His eyebrows furrowed at the question that he has been tossing and turning in his mind. Why did she do that?

A knock at the door broke into his thoughts just as he was about to unravel that mystery, much to his dismay. "Come in," Sebastian weaved around the door and started towards him. "What is it, Sebastian?"

"A mission from the Queen has arrived." Sebastian quirked an eyebrow at Ciel, placing a letter on Ciel's waiting hand. "I assume this is regarding the fire outbreaks a week ago."

Ciel nodded. "About time."

**…..**

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><p>"Deliver this tea to the Young Master, Estella, he's in his study."<p>

Estella's face fell. Ordering her to dust the books in the library was even better than merely sending teas to Ciel now. She sighed. "Sure," she said to Sebastian grudgingly, taking the tray from him.

"Oh, and dust the books while you're there."

Estella stared at him incredulously, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Wha_aaat_?" His red eyes bored into her with calculated patience, and she gulped. Clenching her jaw muscles, she spoke through two rows of teeth. "Oka_aaay_, I'll do it..."

With a sigh, she walked out of the kitchen. Her nervousness was showing in the way she dragged her feet up the stairs. Ever since that night, she has been behaving like this whenever she was with Ciel, tip-toeing around him. And it was all her fault for this tension between her and Ciel.

The others servants have been wary of her dark moods especially poor Finny who she had snapped at this morning, but quickly apologized when she realized she was out of line for doing so. The nightmares that caused her toss and turn at night was not making her moods any better.

What she really needed now was something to burn off the boiling energy that was eating her up before it drives her crazy. Like a good spar. She made a mental note to ask Sebastian for training session later.

Dragging her eyes from her feet to the door she stopped before, Estella raised a hand and knocked.

**…..**

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><p>Estella poked her head around the door when no one responded to her knocks. Her eyes found her way to the desk, and she quirked up an eyebrow.<p>

Ciel was leaning fully into his chair, he was sleeping judging from his closed eye and the soft snores. It seemed that he has fallen asleep in the midst of his paperwork; she could barely see the desk with papers scattered across it.

Estella breathed out a relieved sigh when she realized she was saved from another awkward moment with Ciel.

Dancing her way around the door, she closed it silently as possible and swiftly made her way towards him. Pushing a pile of papers aside, she placed down the teacup delicately. Ice blue eyes made their way to Ciel's face after she was done, her attention went straight to his furrowed eyebrows and trembling eyelid. Her own eyebrows furrowed at the recognition of a bad dream.

She sighed and wordlessly turned away, accidentally knocking over a pile of papers. Refraining from groaning out loud, she got down to pick them up. Luckily, it was a small pile. Shuffling them back into a pile, Estella turned back and returned them back onto the desk, shuddering at contact when her retracting hands brushed across Ciel's hand .

Estella stilled. _Stay asleep! _Her mind desperately willed Ciel. _Don't you dare wake up now, Phantomhive!_ She eyed him nervously, inching her hands away. She gulped, trying to coordinate her limbs as she backed away.

Her sigh of relief was only released halfway when Ciel's hand suddenly snapped itself around her wrist, holding it with a bruising grip. Then a roar of anger screamed at her ears. "_STOP!"_

It was hard to understand what was going to happen because in a matter of split seconds, she found herself only a breath distance from Ciel and staring at his furious dark blue eye that had managed to turn her knees into a shaking jelly. When the hell did he stand up?

"What…" Estella croaked, staring back in confusion. She winced; her wrist was numbed with pain. "Can…can you let go? You're hurting me." She managed a glare at their raised arms.

Ciel released a shuddering breath that made her lips quiver at its contact. His grip on her wrist softened as the anger in his eye cleared up.

His mushy mind was beginning to register what's in front of him.

Ciel stared shock at her, releasing another shuddering breath that made her lips quiver again. His eye as though it was drawn by some irresistible force, dragged its gaze down to those quivering lips and, he suddenly felt an unbearable urge to brush them with his lips.

Feeling his ears burn at that thought, he screamed at himself. _What did you just think?!" _

Stunned by his intense gaze on her lips, Estella turned pink, forgetting how to breathe. _Oh my god…_

_Move, come on, move away from her!_ His mind screamed at his unmoving body.

They stood rooted at their position like time has stilled. Their bodies refusing to budge.

After a few frustrated screams at his body, Ciel finally moved, taking unsteady steps away, and facing away to hide his blushing cheeks. Ciel cleared his tight throat. "Sorry…I had a nightmare." Without a word, he swiftly went around his desk and cross the study to the door.

He hesitated at it for a moment and glance over his shoulder at her. "We'll be heading out for an investigation tomorrow." his voice came out raspy and he cleared his throat. "Get ready…"

The moment the door closed behind Ciel, Estella sank down to the floor, gasping.

**….**

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><p><em><strong>-End of Chapter-<strong>_

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><p><strong>Okay, I'm scared…Did I take things too far…? Gahh, how about you tell me through a review? Review please! <strong>


	33. Little Talks

**Chapter 32**

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><p>Estella threw herself on the bed the moment she entered her room, her stiff shoulders slackened as she sank into it with a weary sigh, as though the bed had the ability to absorb their tension. A groan escaped her mouth as she rolled onto her back, gazing at the ceiling through half-lidded eyes. It was already ten, and she has reached her limit, like how she would always end up by this hour of each day. However, she was especially more exhausted tonight compared to the other nights.<p>

The awkward skittishness between Ciel and her just seemed to have intensified after their strange encounter, and it has made today more exhausting than ever. She found her mind wandering off into turmoil several times after it. She could still remember that confused look on poor Finny's face when she suddenly let out a string of swearing words in the midst of gardening.

Thankfully, she did not catch any glimpse of Ciel after the encounter. However, the relief she was feeling sank quickly at the inevitability of needing to face him again the moment the next morning comes.

Stifling a yawn, Estella let her gaze wander over to the clock and caught sight of the time. Pushing today's events and her frustration aside, she climbed off her bed with a sigh and marched toward the bathroom with a great desire to wash the fatigue off her body.

**…..**

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><p>The glare of the sun peeking through the drapes hit her face, and she turned away almost immediately at the intrusion. Fuzzy vision greeted the moment she opened her eyes, as soon as she was out of her sleepy state, she realized that they were going to head out for an investigation this evening. That knowledge set her groaning as a feeling of dread settled heavily on her chest.<p>

_This means I have to stick with Phantomhive. Noooo, why did THAT happen to me?_ Estella threw the covers aside and scrambled out of the bed with a frustrated scowl.

Estella entered the bathroom and twisted the tap at the sink. Sticking a hand under the running water, she splashed the water at her face and quickly wiped the dripping water off her face with a towel.

Flashing her teeth stupidly at her reflection, Estella narrowed her eyes curiously at the two slightly pointed teeth which had disrupted the straight set of teeth that she was secretly proud of. Poking one, she winced at the small prick it gave her. Scowling at the two teeth, she shrugged and splashed water at her face the second time, quickly wiping the water off with the towel.

She sighed at an unpleasant thought, tossing the towel into the laundry basket.

Yesterday's incident was uncalled for.

**...**

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><p>Estella has always loved walking out of her room to a morning like this. To be greeted by a breeze of cool fresh morning air the moment she leaves her room was the best start to a day.<p>

The walk down the empty hallways had managed to take her mind off the frustrations she was venting in her room. Estella took another whiff of fresh morning air that filled the hallways. Someone was thoughtful enough to let the morning fresh air into the stifling hallways, that someone must be either Sebastian or Tanaka, she noted as she made a turn into a corner and made her way down the staircase.

"BARD! STOP, I'M STILL HERE!" Finny's shout came from the kitchen just as she reached the foot of the stairs.

Estella tilted her head curiously as she slowly approached the kitchen, wondering what the ruckus was about this time. Before she could even reach her first guess, a loud explosion sounded from the kitchen. Raising an eyebrow at the black fumes that were drifting out of the kitchen, comprehension dawned onto her face and she sighed before jogging to the kitchen.

"Finny! Bard!" Estella skidded to a stop at the door and squinted, trying to catch a glimpse of the two servants. She spluttered uncontrollably, feeling her nose tingle at the intrusion as she groped her way through the fumes into the kitchen.

Finny who sat sprawled on the floor was the first of the two she spotted when she got through. Estella gaped at a scene around the boy, an eyebrow twitching incredulously at the aftermath of the explosion. The floor, walls _and _the ceiling looked almost black. "What the…" Her eyes widened, horrified at what she saw next. The table where she was planning to have her breakfast was now just a heap of charred wood on the floor.

"Bard," Finny struggled to keep his coughs under control. "…didn't I told you to do that only after I'm out of here?" Her attention went back to the Finny and Estella grimaced at his state. His hair was stuck out in all directions and slightly singed, and his skin and clothes were a little charred.

Estella glanced up to locate the said chef and a grimace dawned onto her face once again the moment she had. Bard looked even worse and she couldn't help but smirked amusingly at him. The afro that sat on his head had led her to ponder how an explosion could possibly turn someone's hair into an afro. That afro and his skin looked charred, and the explosion had somehow managed to shred his clothes.

Bard sniffled, rubbing his irritated eyes. None of them have noticed her yet. "Well, this is my chance to show Sebastian who's the cook here! He is always doing my job and always gets all the praises!"

Still not making her presence known, Estella gave a cursory glance at the scene around her. It took her less than a second for her brain to assimilate the situation. Oh, she knew_ this_ too well, as she herself had experienced this first-hand not too long ago.

Scowling disapprovingly at her quick realization, the redhead girl could not bring herself but to cluck her tongue in annoyance and slap her forehead in frustration. "Bard! Who _the hell_ cooks using a _dynamite_?!"

Two of them whipped their attention to her in surprise. "Este-"

"My my, what have you done again, Bard?" Estella jumped and spun around to the deep voice to see Sebastian standing by the door behind her. Annoyance was evident in his tone and face.

"Sebastian!" The three servants cried out in unison.

With a frown marred on his face, Sebastian sighed and pursed his lips, silently pondering in annoyance and amusement about these servants' ability to give a demon hypertension.

Sebastian heaved another sigh. "I'll fix this. Get out of here, you three." He stepped away from the door purposefully. "_Now_."

Estella raised an eyebrow at the butler who stared at them with calculated patience. "Fix? How? The kitchen is beyond…" Her eyes suddenly widened a fraction and her mouth snapped close. Without another word, she frowned a little at Sebastian and obediently walked out of the kitchen, beckoning Finny and Bard to follow with the jut of her chin.

Her mouth was set in a grim line.

Of course, Sebastian was a demon. Demons could do anything.

**….**

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><p>Ciel caught sight of the time and sighed the third time. He knew he was being silly, wishing that checking the time again and again will change the fact that it was time for them to head out for investigation.<p>

_So much for being careful! _The boy cursed under his breath, rubbing a hand down his face as he stared back at his reflection, feeling dread settling heavily down on his chest. _Why did that happen with Blancbaston yesterday?_

He'd just made a decision to be more careful the day after they returned from the case, so that things between them wouldn't become worse. He couldn't quite place a finger on it but what he knew was that there was something more than just a master-servant relationship, teetering on their professional line. Whatever it was–

"Young Master," Sebastian's voice from the door pricked into his thoughts, bringing him out of his trance, "The carriage is ready."

"We're leaving now," Ciel hesitated. "And make sure Blancbaston knows this."

"Yes, my lord."

Ciel returned his attention to his reflection to see himself clad in a white button-down shirt which was loosely tucked into his black knee-length pants – an image of a civilian like what he hoped for.

A satisfied slanted smile curved his lips as he readjusted the white eye patch tied around his head and shifted his attention to the darkening sky outside.

"This better be good."

Giving his reflection a cursory look, Ciel darted off to grab the black cloak which was perched on the clothes rack and exited the room.

**….**

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><p>Even though it has been clearly stated in his pocket watch that it was still evening, the sun was out of sight and the moon was already up in the sky. The streets their carriage trudged along were lonely and empty. Winter which had London firmly held in its chilling grip was the nudge that made the civilians decide to return to their warm homes earlier, maybe except for the workaholics and drunk ones who were mumbling incoherently or slumbering the day away on the pavement and in the alleys.<p>

Ciel silently closed his watch and slid it into his pocket, glancing over from the side of his eye at Estella who paid no mind to him or made no move to start up a conversation like she always did.

If she was not intending to, he was going to initiate it. After all, forgetting and acting like nothing happened between them was what he planned to do to make sure that their professional relationship could maintain neutral and stable as it was or at least, get rid of the tension threatening it.

Ciel cleared his throat softly. "Blancbaston…" Ice blue eyes slowly moved over to him, meeting his gaze nervously. Blinking at the expecting look on her face, he went rigid when he realized that he did not what to say. Silence stretched between them as Ciel silently scolded himself for not thinking thoroughly on how he should initiate a conversation with her before speaking. Frustration can be seen in the way his jaw clenched.

"…What is it, Phantomhive?" Estella couldn't help but be drawn by the slight jump of the muscle there when he did that.

Startled, Ciel's eye shot over to her. His mind which was in the midst of forming a sentence until she spoke suddenly went blank. All he could do was stare at her with his mouth opening and closing with the attempt to produce the words that was forming in his head before he was interrupted, only to have nothing coming out. Ciel frowned and snapped his mouth closed, jaw clenching in frustration once again when he realized that he must have had looked stupid, resembling a fish out of water.

He coughed lightly in embarrassment. "Oh…erm. Hold on a sec, I'd forgotten what I'd wanted to say…"

Ciel tilted his head slightly towards the window and went silent.

"…Okay."

Her eyes stayed fixed on his profile and she watched him curiously, somehow forgetting to be daunted by the awkwardness and tension they had been between them at the moment. The Phantomhive boy who was absorbed with his thoughts didn't seem to notice her scrutinizing stare. It was the first time she'd had took a chance to take in a _detailed_ look at him so she took the advantage to study him thoroughly.

Her mouth dropped opened a fraction. She was surprised by his remarkable resemblance to his father. The Phantomhive genes were sure strong, from what she'd seen in the photos she'd found in the storerooms back in the manor. She shifted slightly in her seat to get more comfortable as she thought back to the younger portrait of the boy which hung in clear view on the top of the stairs.

She continued to study him, careful not to make her action too obvious which was not necessary since Ciel's attention was somewhere else.

He was no less attractive than his father. He had matured fairly well from the previous years, she observed with a blush. She thought that Ciel had developed well into an attractive teenager, almost to a man – if she was perfectly honest with herself. His features were more masculine, his jawline was stronger, his eyes narrower and shaped more like an adult's than a child's which they were in the portrait. Dark blue which colored his irises were distinctly not inherited from his father, from his mother, she assumed.

Estella leaned in closer to study his dark blue eye when it swung over to her, delighted to see it in full view. She stared in awe when she got a clearer view of his eye– it has a pretty shade of blue, close to sapphire.

What had started as a factual observation slipped into realization when she noticed the clouding puzzlement in his visible eye. She blinked and tilted her head curiously, pulling out of her thoughts only to find herself looking at Ciel who was staring back at her with a puzzled look.

"What…" An eyebrow arched at her. "…were you doing?"

"I…" She felt her cheeks warm. "…was waiting for you to recall what you were about to say earlier. So have you?" Estella quickly covered up her embarrassment with an impatient scowl, crossing her arms as though in attempt to get her impatience across.

Ciel continued to stare at her with the raised eyebrow for a brief moment and sighed softly with sort of bitterness passing over his features. "About what happened that night…" Ciel Phantomhive was someone who doesn't apologize easily, but somehow the impulse to do so was strong this time. The bitterness of the guilt and regret from that night had never left him.

He tilted his face away when he started to feel discomfort with her staring intently at his face. "I…I didn't know what I was thinking when I ordered Sebastian to kill you. It wasn't intentional. I wasn't thinking straight that night. I will never let you…" His talking faltered when he realized what was about to come out from his mouth, and feigned a cough before he continued. "And…as your master and an individual, I personally feel that I should apologize. I'm…I'm sorry."

Ciel exhaled a deep and profoundly sigh, somewhat feeling lighter after he had finished. He did not turn back to Estella to see her response to his apology immediately, still feeling strange about what he did.

"I don't blame you for that." He snapped his head over to Estella in surprise to see a small smile curving her lips. "You were not yourself that night. I know something which Doctor did must have made you snap like that." She ceased her talk and ran her gaze over his face for a moment as in trying to grasp a sort of understanding. When she'd finally got what she was searching, she started again hesitantly. "Did…Did the actions of Doctor remind you of your time in the cult?"

The way his eye darkened the moment she asked that question told her that she had stepped into another out-of-bound topic. The atmosphere in the carriage seemed have shifted to something less comfortable than a few minutes ago, along with his mood.

When Ciel finally spoke, his tone was slightly different from before. Emotionally guarded. Emptier. Darker.

"It was the same, like the ones I'd witnessed with my own eyes. Everything there was the exactly same. The whole set-up was like the exact copy of that day, even the temperature of the room. The only things that were different were the people there and… time."

"You've got that right. The people in the room and time _are_ different." Estella discerned. "I mean, don't worry, you are absolutely safe from the past or Doctor with Sebastian and me around. I promise you, as your bodyguard and coming from someone who had the similar experience, I'll never let anyone drag you back to those days again." A slanted determined smile curved her lips. _"Never_."

He gave a faint, humorless smile. "Thanks."

"No problem."

They regarded each other in a long silence, somehow feeling far more comfortable with each other than hours before – the awkwardness and tension between them were somewhat lessened, much to Ciel's delight.

**….**

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><p>The sky was dark and cloudy when they reached their first destination. The first drop of snow landed on his nose as Ciel studied the map he brought along for the investigation, sending shivers down his spine.<p>

He clucked his tongue in annoyance, rubbing the chill off his nose. "Snow? Now?" He turned to the carriage where Sebastian and Estella hovered around and raised an eyebrow, waiting for their cue to start investigating.

"I guess." Estella shrugged while Sebastian tilted his head towards the sky.

Ciel sighed and returned to the map where their three destinations were circled with red. He did a rough estimation of the duration of their visits to each destination and scowled at the realization of the insufficient time he'd in his hands. His eye darted about the map, taking in the distance between the destinations, and felt dread settling in the pit of his stomach when he realized that the locations were quite dispersed.

He sighed.

His eyebrows furrowed in concentration, folding the map and tucking it into his pocket. This assignment was much more troublesome than he thought. Unless…

"Sebastian," The said butler glanced over, "Head over to the two other crime scenes and investigate over there. I'll be investigating this place with Blancbaston, so meet us back here at nine sharp."

Sebastian looked surprised for a moment, but bowed to Ciel before disappearing into thin air.

Ciel turned to his investigation partner to see her blinking at the empty spot a few feet away from her – surprise was still evident on her face when she returned his attention. "I don't think I can ever get used to Sebastian disappearing and appearing from thin air. It's just so…unnatural." She smiled thinly. "I guess that's a demon for you."

A small smirk of agreement curved his lips. She reminded him of himself when he met Sebastian the very first time, like how he was surprised by how unnaturally fast and efficient Sebastian could be, even when he clearly knew what Sebastian was.

His smirk quickly faltered. "Now that you know what he is, you shouldn't use that word so carelessly." Ciel said flatly.

"I'll keep that in mind." She nodded solemnly.

"Alright, let's go."

**…..**

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><p><strong>AN: **Please kindly_ REVIEW_! I know I sound desperate here, but this is my honest thoughts and feelings. When I do not get as many reviews as I thought I will get from you guys, I _really_, _honestly_ feel that my effort is not appreciated, and this gets me really down and disappointed. I will feel not inspiration to write my next chapter.

So, _please, _do kindly review to not let me feel this way and to get an update faster.


	34. Her Fears Were His Resolve

**Chapter 33**

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><p>Snow crunched under their heavily padded boots as the two made their way down the cobblestone path towards the apartment building, not a single word was spoken to each other ever since they started moving. The sound of their footsteps and heavy breathing were all that kept the air between them from falling completely into silence. They did not feel the need to talk. Investigation was all that mattered at the time being. When they finally reached the lamp post that was rooted in front of the bricked building, both raised their heads to look at the towering building.<p>

Ciel snorted at the news report he recalled reading two days after he received the Queen's letter regarding the case. It was ridiculous how the residents could give up their homes so easily.

The dark windows and the stillness that indicated complete abandonment of the building was something that failed to surprise Ciel as he had already expected this. But it seemed the opposite for the red head who blinked in puzzlement at the building.

"They'd left to live somewhere else." Ciel said in a bored tone when he saw the puzzled look on Estella's face, and started his way towards the building, pushing his way past the tape the police had put up.

Estella slowly dragged her gaze away from the building above her and rested it on the back of the boy who was glancing around the out-of-bound place he entered. "No wonder." She went under the tape his waiting hand held for her, muttering a 'thanks' under her breath which didn't go unheard by Ciel who brushed it off with a lazy flick of his hand.

**….**

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><p>"Filthy." His disgust took its form on his face as a grimace with a scrunched nose at the cloud of dust that greeted them as soon as he pushed open the door to the stairs. Ciel raised his eye disdainfully from the dusty floor which he clucked his tongue in annoyance at, to the flight of equally dusty stairs that was waiting for them.<p>

Estella scrunched her nose in agreement as she tried to block off the stench of alcohol in the air of the stairs passage which rushed into her nose the moment she breathed in. "It stinks too." Another cloud of dust kicked up as she moved to follow Ciel who had started climbing the stairs.

Already so much dust after one week? Ciel thought with displeasure, hating the uncontrollable twitch of his irritated nose. As they tread up the steps, Ciel's eye darted up to the flights of stairs above them and pinpointed the one that stopped at the eighth storey where the fire broke out on.

The girl beside him quirked an eyebrow at the steps ahead of them and blinked at a smoking cigarette she caught onto. Estella nudged his side with her elbow for his attention. "Hey Phantomhive."

Ciel glanced over at her with a questioning look.

"Look…"She pointed at her discovery.

"What?" He tore his attention away from her face to the direction her finger was pointing at. Ciel's eye widened at the cigarette almost instantly, following the thin trail of smoke that escaped from it.

Silence stretched between them as they paused at the steps to peruse the stick which sat innocently in front of them.

Ciel clenched his jaw solemnly at the realization of a possible danger. He raised his head to glare at the flight of stairs above. "Someone's here…"

Estella followed his gaze and looked back at him with a frown. "That's what I thought. Now what?" She watched as the boy peered up at the tiers above for the other trespasser.

"Up quietly." Ciel pointed a finger heavenwards, looking up at the steps ahead after throwing her a warning look.

As stealthy and silent as possible, the two continued climbing the steps, glancing up from time to time as they went. Their ears were straining to capture any sound from above, and adrenaline was already burning in their blood.

Silence was almost overbearing.

Estella's eyes darted to the front where Ciel was leading them and noticed that he was rigid with anticipation, just like how she was. Her sharpened hearing didn't fail to capture the soft echoes of their breathing that was accompanying them as they tip-toed their way up – it felt as though the building itself was anticipating with them.

Then suddenly…

A deep chuckle from above prickled into the thick silence.

Both raised their eyes in surprise.

However, it was double surprise for Estella when Ciel suddenly came to a halt.

Her face bumped into his back, and its force managed to knock her off balance when Ciel jerked to a stop in front of her. Luckily, the boy noticed her loss of balance and swiftly grabbed onto her wrist, quick enough to break her fall.

"Careful." He murmured as he released her arm when she could stand properly again.

Estella nodded as she watched Ciel carefully stuck his head over the banister they were holding. "See anyone?" She whispered and waited for his response.

She tilted her head in confusion when Ciel held up two fingers in response.

"Two?" Estella watched Ciel withdrew his head.

His eye was hard with seriousness when he turned back to her. "I can't determine accurately from here, but I think there are two of them up there." His voice which was full of caution was so low and soft that she had to lean into him to catch his words.

"Then should we continue?" She eyed Ciel whose head was still inclined towards top.

"Of course." Ciel's face was tight, and his eye was dancing with caution when he glanced back down at her. Another crack of laughter from above stole his attention just as he was about to start moving again.

What a noisy pair, Ciel thought with a shake of head, glancing back to the steps in front and started forward.

**….**

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><p>The voices grew louder as they edged closer and closer to their sources. The content of the conversation by the muffled voices had become recognizable and clearer, and he was highly aware of the presence on the stairs above the one they were on. A tingling sensation traipsed down his spine the moment he reached the staircase landing, as if to warn him not go up any further.<p>

Ciel turned back to the girl behind him and placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her advance towards him. He leaned in closer to her. "We've reached the end of the road." He whispered to the puzzled girl and drew back.

Estella mimicked his action, and whispered. "Here?"

He nodded and pointed at the set of stairs above them.

"Where exactly?"

His mouth moved mutely. _Right above us._

She realized that Ciel was right when another fit of laughter once again cracked through the silence of the building. Indeed right above.

**…..**

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><p>"<em>Oh, that woman was fucking gooood! She kept screaming my name when I was screwin' her! Totally made my day, no, night!" <em>Unknown to those two people who both roared with laughter, there were other two who were cringing in disgust on the stairs below them.

Ciel, who scoffed in disdain at the dirty talk, lazily let himself fall back onto the wall behind him and folded his arms. A bored look settled over the disdain look on his face as he turned his attention back to their conversation.

"_Hoooo…What's her name?" _Another set of voice asked.

"_Annie, no, I think it was Anna or Annabelle or…or Annabeth…Urgh, who cares about her name!? Anyway, we'd better start investigating this fire before Boss kills us!"_

A heavy sigh came from the other party. "_Tsk. Whatever. I still think this is just a normal fire outbreak."_

"_Nah, it's not normal fire. Just like what Boss suspected. It's demon fire."_

Ciel and Estella snapped their head over to each other at the mention of 'demon' with widened eyes.

"_Demon fire?"_ A scoff came in response. "_Ridiculous. I don't even know why I joined this organization. SIGMA is full of nuts!_"

Their eyes sprang wide the second time at the organization's name.

_SIGMA?_

Estella gaped in horror at the stairs above as she desperately tried to grasp what the voice from above just said.

Her already racing heart quickened its pace as a chilling sensation of horror seeped into her skin, and into her very bones. Along with her heart, her breathing was starting to go out of control. The rhythm and audibility of her pants seemed to be growing quicker and louder as her brain pressingly tried to assimilate the organization's name she just heard.

"Blancbaston?" She watched an anxious Ciel approach her quietly from the sides of her eyes.

"I-I'm okay…"

Refusing to meet the concerned look on Ciel's face, she fixated her eyes onto her shoes instead and wrapped her arms around herself, desperately trying to calm down. The scarf and the thickly padded coat on her seemed to have suddenly lost their capability to shield her from the cold because she was beginning to shiver.

Ciel felt statued, seeing her fears so raw on her face for the very first time. Something about her expression and actions made him stop his advance towards her. And for an instance, time seemed to have stilled along with his body. It was as though there was no one but just the two of them.

He couldn't keep his eye off the trembling figure in front of him.

The way she brought her arms around herself, as if to give herself a sense of security, and the way she fearfully squeeze her eyes closed, took his breath away. It was strange and shocking for him to see his usually tough and seemingly fearless red-headed servant looking so small and vulnerable.

His dark blue eye quivered as a rush of overprotectiveness he never thought he would possess for her pulsed through his body. Seeing this side of her was new and nerve-wrecking. He never want to see that frightened look on her face or see her trembling like that ever again because this side of her just did not sit right with him. He simply couldn't shake the uneasiness and the surge of overprotectiveness off him no matter how many times he told himself to let her be.

The urge to pull her into his arms was driving him crazy, he couldn't hold back anymore.

**….**

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><p>Her trembling closed eyelids sprang open in surprise when she felt a pair of arms pull her into a warm embrace, and found herself buried in someone's chest. While her brain was still trying to figure out who, her nose twitched fondly to the similar sweet and soothing smell that was embracing her body.<p>

Estella slowly raised her eyes and let out a soft gasp of shock when she found herself tucked under her master's chin. A blush slowly crept up her face as she became aware of how gentle he was holding her. One hand held her head to his chest while the other was wrapped protectively around her waist.

His body heat enveloping her sent waves of sensation like gentle fire down her body. New and comforting.

"Everything's going to be fine." His boyish voice drifted softly into her ears. It was soothing, as soothing as the scent he emitted. "You're safe. As long as I'm with you, you will not be their prisoner again, I promise." She didn't know how, but she found herself gradually calming down and relaxing to his words.

"Really? You promise?" She muttered hesitantly and softly.

"I promise." His arms tightened reassuringly around her.

As her arms circled around his torso, she gingerly let her head drop back onto his chest, feeling happy yet strange about what she was doing. Yes, maybe she would really be safe as long as she has him.

"_**Hey you two, whatcha doing here?"**_

They froze.

"Shit." Estella heard the boy curse under his breath and felt the warmth around her disappear along with his arms. As soon as the comfort disappeared, she started panicking again. This time, her heart was pounding even faster. She couldn't help but uttered the same word under her breath over and over again.

Ciel chose to keep his eye fixed on the panicking girl in front of him instead, now that she looked like she was about to hyperventilate. "Hey hey, calm down." He whispered urgently, shifting his body slightly to the right to hide her from their view as he continued racking his brain for answers.

_They MUST NOT see her face. Think, Ciel. What do we do now?_

His eye widened for a moment and narrowed at the answer he had reached.

Run.

That was the solution. There was nothing they could do but escape now while they still could.

But first…

His hands flew up to the buttons of his cloak and popped them open, and this earned him a confused look from Estella. As soon as he was free from his cloak's grip, he ripped it off his shoulders and hurriedly draped it over the confused girl's shoulders.

"Wha-What are you doing?" Estella whispered, growing even more anxious and confuse.

Ciel made no reply as he continued spending his concentration on his fumbling fingers which were trying to secure the cloak around her instead.

"_**Answer when someone's asking you question, you brats!"**_ His shoulders tensed at the annoyed voice. He forced himself to ignore the men the second time, hastily wiping the sweat that was just about to enter his eye. He cursed at his struggle, trying to suppress the trembling of his fingers.

Hastily pushing the last button through its hole, he quickly reached an arm over her shoulder and flipped its cape over her head, earning himself a surprised "Hey!" from Estella as a result.

Her ice blue eyes which were peeking out at him danced with desperation. "_Please_. J-Just tell me what we are about to do."

Ciel grabbed her shoulders and forced her to face him again, just as she was about to peek around him to get a glance at the men. "Blancbaston, calm down and listen to me."

"O-Okay." She nodded her head, gulping nervously.

"We are going to run. Keep your head down as we go down this stairs." He swiveled his eye over to the said staircase which Estella's eyes followed to. It was the staircase they came up from.

"_**What rude brats! You two…."**_

Ciel's scowl deepened and he continued despite the angry voices, more urgently this time. "You must not let them see your face, okay?" A nod from her was all he needed from her as the cue to start running. Sliding a hand down her arm, he grabbed up her hand that was at the end and secured his hold around it. He didn't missed how her breath hitched when he did that.

He felt weird and embarrassed about it as well, but he knew there was no time to think this over.

They had to run.

They must not be caught.

He _had to_ protect her.

Ciel sucked in a deep breath and looked down at Estella with a gaze full of determination and assurance. Giving her hand a squeeze, he turned and led their escape.

**...**

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><p>"<em><strong>Hey, that was Ciel Phantomhive!<strong>_**"** One surprised voice rang from above.

The two teenagers who were scrambling their way down the tiers of stairs flinched responsively to the men's claim of realization. This urged them to quicken their pace.

"They saw your face!" Estella gaped in horror at Ciel who tightened his grip around her hand in response.

"_**After him NOW!"**_A second voice rang from above.

"Shit." Ciel cursed when he heard the sound of pounding footstep from stairs tiers above, and yelled over his shoulder in frustration. "Hurry!"

Estella frantically tried to gather up the rest of the cloak that was obstructing her movement. "I'm trying!" She yelled through pants. "I can't run properly! Your cloak is too big for me!"

Ciel swept a look over the girl behind him. "Damn it." He cursed again when he saw what she meant. As soon as they reached a landing, he released her hand and kneeled on one knee in front of Estella who managed to avoid crashing into him in time. "Climb on." He ordered, adjusting his position so that his back was completely facing her.

Without a question, Estella nodded and quickly draped herself over his waiting back, understanding how dire their situation was. There was no time to waste. "Let's go."

Once Ciel was sure that the girl secured to him, he stood and continued their way down.

**….**

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><p>Frantic movements of his feet sent chunks of snow scattering everywhere as he sprinted down the snowy pavement. Heavy pants in the form of white wisps continued puffing out of his mouth as he swept his eye across the street for a hiding place.<p>

He'd already eliminated the carriage as one as he couldn't risk leading them to their transport home. Sighing gratefully, he couldn't be more relief as he recalled himself ordering Sebastian to hide the carriage earlier. Now that the carriage was safe from sight, he just needed to find them a place to hide.

He glanced around tiredly.

But where?

"_**They went that way!"**_The pair of voices that penetrated the silence of the night and managed to reach his ears told him that they were already out on the pavement like them.

Cursing for the umpteenth time, he forced his legs to move faster. His heart was pounding to the rhythm of his feet racing over the ground as a mild burning sensation seeped into his muscles. The beads of sweat on the sides his face was causing his hair to curl into his face like a sort of frame.

He'd better hurry before their pursuers catch up with them, Ciel thought with a sigh.

Sweeping the area with another glance, he sped down the pavement lighted up by the golden glow from the lamps.

"Enough, Phantomhive." His eye darted up to the girl who was leaning over his shoulder. Worry could be clearly seen from the way her eyebrows were quirked inwards. "You're tiring yourself out. I think I can run by myself, now that we're on flat ground."

"You _think_?" Ciel shook his head. "No, not yet. I can't risk letting you down yet. What if it's still difficult for you to run fast?" His tongue flickered out to lick his dry lips.

"But-"

"We can't stop. They're right behind us!" He grunted, adjusting his grip on her thighs. "We-We need to hide!"

Frowning at him, her hands tightened their grip on the front of his shirt at his urgency.

Estella hastily glanced around. "Okay, how about over there?" She pointed at the alley ahead. "Behind the crates!"

Ciel glanced over at where she pointed and saw stacks of crates the alley had. "Alright." He nodded when he saw how useful the crates in the alley she was pointing at could be for hiding.

"Phan-Phantomhive, I'm kind of s-scared…" Ciel frowned when he felt the girl on his back trembled. Oh, how he hated hearing the shakiness in her voice. The fear that was so palpable was making him uneasy.

Her words were like fuel to fire as the urge to protect her within him grew immensely.

"We are going to be fine, Blancbaston."

At this point of time, his promise to not let her fall into their enemy's hands strengthened into resolve.

Taking a deep breath, Ciel tightened his grip on her thighs and charged forward with eye steeled with promise.

**….**

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><p><strong>Okay, I am really nervous about the outcome of this chapter. I hope you guys don't think that what I wrote in this chapter is weird and lame. As you have read, they are growing closer, and Ciel has developed a protective streak over her in this chapter, now that he truly understood how real and frightening the danger Estella was in.<strong>

**I'm starting on a new fanfiction, well, on Shingeki no Kyojin revolving Levi x OC. Those who watch that awesome anime, please go to my story when it's uploaded (I'll announce when it is) and review on it!**

**Anyway…*Clears throat***

**A LOT OF REVIEWS = HAPPY AND MOTIVATED AUTHOR = FASTER UPDATES = HAPPY READERS!**

**Please review!**


	35. Something Amiss

**I bet you have never thought that there would be another update. **

**Honestly, I gave up on this story. I mean, I really appreciate your support and I know that I said "A LOT OF REVIEWS = HAPPY AND MOTIVATED AUTHOR = FASTER UPDATES = HAPPY READERS!" in my note in the previous chapter. Faster updates would actually happen as I had promised if I didn't lost my drive for this story. Losing the drive to continue this story was why I stopped. **

**But why did I post a new chapter out of the blue when I said that I gave up? A certain reader of mine had somehow managed to, magically boost my drive which had supposedly gone poof, with her review. Something about what she said had set off a spark in me. **

**So here it is – a new chapter. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 34<strong>

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><p>She squirmed in discomfort at the pressure against her hips, trying to resist the urge to push it off. Even though she knew that this position she was in didn't mean anything, she could not stop the pink tint on her cheeks from glowing even brighter.<p>

Hell, being straddled on by Ciel Phantomhive while sitting on an ice-cold snow-covered ground in an alley was not an ideal way, _her _ideal way to stay hidden. This was an extremely uncomfortable and _sexually_ awkward situation to be in.

Her legs that sat crossed under her were getting soaked to the point that they felt like frozen meat. Her back was sore from being poked by the sharp corners of the crates she was leaning against. And the way Ciel was leaning over her, caging her with his body and his knees by her hips was making her blush. Their hiding spot they were in was small. If she was to lean another inch forward, her face would be squashed up against Ciel's chest.

She wasn't exactly clear how they got into this position. All she knew was that they had to squeeze into this one-man hiding space the crates provided in order to avoid getting caught by those men. Putting the limited space aside, it was a perfect spot to hide, she have to admit, since there was an addition forest-green cover over this one-man space to conceal them.

Sighing softly, she gradually stretched out her numb legs as much as the little space allow, careful not to knee the male in the groin. Her movement somehow managed to earn her an annoyed grunt from the male above whose attention was outside their hiding place. "Stop fidgeting, Blancbaston." He muttered flatly, attention still fixated on the outside.

Glowering up at Ciel, Estella stubbornly continued what she was doing, shifting herself to find a more bearable position.

A cluck of tongue brought her attention upwards, in time to see the hovering male withdrawing himself away from the little gap he was peeking through. "Stop that, idiot." He hissed, gaze dropping down to meet her eyes sharply. His dark blue eye was piercing with impatience and annoyance.

The sides of her mouth were tugged down into a frown upon seeing the look he gave her. "Try sitting still on snow. It will freeze your ass off like some goddamn meat." She scowled, pouting impatiently at him.

The impatience in his eye faded away as he stared at the pouting girl below with an unimpressed look. Silence began to fill the tiny space between them as they continued their little stare-down. "Tch." Ciel finally broke away, rolling his eye heavenwards. "Pouting like a brat. How childish." Despite his words, a subtle blush made its way across his cheeks.

All he got in return was another glower from her.

Running a hand down his face with a sigh, a bored look was on his face when he looked up to meet her eyes again. "So are you done fidgeting then?" He arched an eyebrow at her. "If yes, I would like to continue my lookout_, without _you fidgeting under me." He shot her a warning look before raising his eye to the little gap.

His face was scrunched in concentration once again.

Letting out a soft sigh, she let her gaze drop from Ciel's face and frowned to herself as a realization along with guilt sank upon her. Her hands balled themselves into fists as the frustration in her faded off for the bitter feeling to set in.

He was just trying to protect her and yet…

Leaning against the stack of crates behind her with a sigh, she tipped her head back and gazed up at the hovering male with a guilty scowl. "Hey. Sorry about that, Phantomhive…"

Ciel snapped his head down at her in surprise, mouth hanging open a fraction. Did she just _apologize_? He blinked at her in disbelief. Did he hear her correctly? Was it even possible to hear an apology from someone as stubborn and prideful as her? "W-What did you just…say? He continued blinking at her in disbelief.

Tilting her head at him with a puzzled look on her face, Estella arched an eyebrow at him. "Erm…I'm sorry about just now?"

Silence was Ciel's reply as he continued staring at her. His visible eye darted around her face as he pressingly tried to let her words sink in. Estella blinked in puzzlement in return as she patiently watched the boy study her face, tilting her head with curiosity at the confused look on his face.

Their breathing continued to mingle as silence stretched between them.

After what seemed like forever, his gaze softened the slightest on her, only to be gone the next second when he blinked it away. "Tch." He finally looked away. "It's fine."

She nodded slowly at his response, racking her brain for a topic to stop the imminent awkwardness that was starting to form between them. When she'd finally found a topic, she opened her mouth to whisper. "So… we managed to find out something useful-"

"_**Where the fuck are those brats?!" **_Letting out a soft gasp, the girl clamped her mouth shut in surprise.

Almost immediately, another voice pierced through the silence of the night. **"**_**And why the hell do we have to be chasing those little fuckers in this shitty night anyway!?" **_In contrast of the loudness and clarity of the voice, the sound of footsteps was barely audible and they sounded far. However, this did not stop the hiding ones from freezing up.

"Goddamn it…" Ciel cursed under his breath as he quietly pulled the fabric above down to make sure that their hiding place was completely covered by it. Once that was done, he lowered himself closer to the ground, too focused on the outside to realize that he had settled himself onto Estella's lap causing the girl's eyes to spring wide open in shock.

With his gaze fixated at the top, he was unaware of the uncomfortable position he had put them in.

Trying to ignore the weight on her lap, Estella lifted her gaze from the face which was only inches above hers to the cover above, keeping her head still to avoid head-butting Ciel. Blushing helplessly, she tried not to be daunted by the proximity between. However, it proved to be a little difficult for her to do as she struggled to focus on the ongoing outside.

Sighing softly under her breath after a while, Estella let her gaze drop back down, getting tired from keeping her eyes fixed on the top. Squirming slightly in discomfort to the warm pressure on her lap, she looked up at the male whose gaze never wavered from above. Keeping her hearing sharp, she listened out for the men, offhandedly tracing the masculine jawline before her with her eyes.

Silence accompanied them as they focused on the growing sound of footsteps which their ears had managed to catch onto.

Ciel scowled at the realization of how close the men were. The prickling sensation on his skin has intensified and the tiny voice in the back of his mind which was warning him of danger was now deafening.

Lowering his gaze to the girl below, his breath hitched when he was met with a pair of ice-blue eyes, just a breath distance away from him. "What the…" He jerked his head away in surprise.

"Shhh…" The girl threw him a warning look, placing a finger over her lips.

Ciel nodded slowly and moved his gaze away from her in embarrassment when he realized what he was sitting on. His cheeks grew flushed as he lifted himself off her lap and edged away as much as he could.

Running a hand through his hair, he glanced up with a flushed face. "W-Why didn't you tell me that I was sitting on you?" He spluttered, instantly reducing to a whisper when he realized that he had raised his voice.

Estella eyed him with a bored look "Well, I thought that I should be cooperative and not interrupt your lookout." She drawled, shrugging nonchalantly.

Ciel raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh?" His eye danced with amusement. "Suddenly so obedient?"

"O-Obedient?" The girl scowled, shook a fist at him. "What the hell do you mean by-?"

"_**Where the fuck did they go?!**_**" **

The two immediately fell into silence and turned to the direction where the sound of pounding footsteps had seemed to cease at. Their eyes were sharp with caution when they turned back to each other, as in trying to warn each other not to make a sound.

"_**Shit this! I'm getting tired of chasing after stupid brats!" **_A voice laced with frustration echoed down the alley.

Almost immediately after that was said, the sound of frantic footsteps gradually shifted to the shuffling sound of feet and to silence which was broken by the other voice.

"_**It's freezing! C'mon, let's get some beer."**_

"_**Yeah, yeah, let's go."**_

The sound of footsteps started up again. This time, less frantic and calmer than earlier's.

Ciel felt his wound-up body relaxed at what they just heard. "Looks like they're giving up." He silently shifted so that he could be on his knees, forcing himself to ignore the shot of iciness that went up his body when he did that.

Letting out a soft sigh, Estella got herself onto her knees too, dusting the clinging snow off her pants. "We should wait for a little longer to make sure." She glanced over to Ciel with a wary look.

He nodded in agreement. "While we are at that…" He lifted up the eyepatch on his face to reveal his contract-marked eye which made the girl look over at him sharply, eyes widening in fascination at the glowing pentacle in that eye. "Sebastian. This is an order…"

**.…**

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><p>The whole world was spinning when he sat up on his bed. The painful groan that was building up in his throat escaped from his mouth as he placed a hand on his forehead to wipe the beads of sweat on it. Breath hitching in surprise, Ciel hastily withdrew his hand from his forehead and blinked owlishly at his hand. He placed his hand back on his head.<p>

His forehead was_ warm_. A little warmer than usual.

Dropping his hand onto his lap, Ciel tipped back his head and leaned heavily on the headboard behind with a weary sigh. His eyebrows were furrowed with displeasure, feeling a slight light-headedness from the little head movement he just did. Much to his dismay, his nose and throat didn't feel right either.

Last night's chase must have caused him these, he thought grumpily.

Closing his eyes, he frowned in discomfort, taking note of the mild burning sensation at the back of them. He kept his eyes closed as he thought back to the night before.

He snorted disdainfully at the thought of how he somehow ended up getting the back of his shirt wet, returning to his manor on the carriage with it plastered to his back like it has glue on it. His skin was itchy and clammy. He was absolutely irked and disgusted the whole way back.

It was not a wonder how he landed himself up in this condition.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Ciel lazily opened his eyes, casting his discomfort aside. He glanced over to the clock to catch sight of time, only to realize that there was only five minutes left before Sebastian comes strolling through his door with his breakfast.

The boy pondered in silence whether to go back to sleep and wait for the butler to wake him up or just get out of bed, running a hand through his messy hair. Glancing over to the windows, his brows furrowed at the thought of those endless piles of irksome paperwork, piling up so high that he could barely see over his desk. Sighing, he made a mental note to tidy up his desk a little later.

With a scowl and an annoyed sigh, he finally made his decision and threw off the thick cover.

**….**

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><p>Estella stared at the white beast in front of her in amazement before glancing over to Sebastian excitedly. "This is my horse?"<p>

"Yes." Sebastian looked down at her, stroking the beast on its head. "Since you already know how to ride a horse, there's no need to teach you. I want you two to be familiar with each other first so today's training is riding and taming her."

"So it is a _she_, huh." The servant watched the horse nip on a strand of grass at its feet.

"I'll give you an hour to do this." The butler gazed down at the pocket watch in his hand. "After that, come back to the manor for more training." He shut the watch with a snap and slipped it back into his suit.

She sighed at the mention of more training and nodded grudgingly. "Okay."

With a nod back at her, Sebastian spun around on his heels and strolled back to the manor.

Watching the distant figure of the butler pull the doors apart when he reached the building, she turned her attention to the busy animal which was nibbling at the strands of grass around it with hands rested on her hips. "Now…what should I name you?" Her eyes narrowed in thoughts.

**...**

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><p>Whack!<p>

Estella stumbled back at the kick she received at her abdomen, clutching onto her stomach with a pained frown. She was about to hunch over to wait for the throbbing pain to fade away, however her opponent was relentless in his attacks. He didn't just stop there as he swung a fist at her.

The girl widened her eyes in surprise when she glanced up to see a fist flying towards her face, and gasped, quickly sidestepping it. She was quick but not quick enough to avoid getting snagged at the cheekbone by one of its knuckles.

Rubbing her face, she glared in annoyance at the attacker and without warning, leapt off the ground, turning her body at the waist to deliver a swift kick to his stomach in retaliation.

Much to her satisfaction, the male yelped in surprise as he stumbled back and clutched onto his stomach like she did earlier. A grimace of pain flickered across his face as he let out a groan. "HA!" He snapped his head up to see the girl chortling away and growled irritably in return.

The girl planted her hands on her hips and broke into the smirk. "Looks like we're even now!" She paced in a circle around him, smirking smugly.

However, her little moment of glory was quickly interrupted when she felt the legs under her being swiped off the ground. Things were happening really quickly. All she could do was blink owlishly as she watched the world around her move alarmingly fast. The shriek which was making its way out of her mouth escaped as a squeak instead as she hit the floor.

Wincing at the throbbing ache in her back, she stared blankly at the ceiling above, still blinking owlishly as she tried to comprehend what just happened. She could hear the shuffling sound of feet, and this alerted her to the presence which was kneeling down beside her lying form. She numbly turned her head to her opponent, staring with a dazed look as she pressingly tried to grasp the situation.

When she finally found the answer, her face darkened into a glower.

There he was, kneeling on a knee beside her with a smug grin plastered on his face. This time, it was him who was chortling away, snorting like a pig between his laughter. "Who said we're even?"

"Seriously, Bard," Estella propped herself up on her forearms and furrowed her eyebrows at him. "If _that's_ not even, then what the hell do you call that? She snapped in annoyance at the sight of his widening smirk.

The chef ran a hand through his messy blond hair lazily and chuckled in amusement. "I was a soldier for God's sake! I'd been on so many battlefields! _That _was nothing! If you can think you can take me on right now, dream on! You'll need to wait another million years to do so!" His smug smirk widened even further as he raised a hand towards her head.

The girl shrunk back instinctively, away from the approaching hand with eyes narrowed in suspicion. She scooted backwards. "What are you–OW!" However, he was still able to easily flick a finger at her forehead as she was still within his reach.

"Hey!" Estella placed a hand over the throbbing area and shot an angry glare at him. "Why the hell did you do that for?"

Grinning at her in a charmingly disarming way, Bard's eyes twinkled with feigned innocence. "Do what? What are you talking about?" He tilted his head innocently at her.

A shadow of annoyance passed her face as her eyebrows furrowed into a scowl.

"Tch." The scowl faltered and was replaced with an unimpressed look as she rolled her eyes at him. "You're such an idiot sometimes." She huffed irritably, exasperation peeking into her words.

Eyebrows twitching almost imperceptibly, Bard's face darkened. "Who's an idiot?"

"You obviously." She scoffed mockingly, folding her arms. "See, now your puny brain is having a hard time trying to figure out who's the idiot. You must be really an idiot, aren't you?" A smug smirk grew across her face, beaming inwardly at her own comeback.

The blond chef gritted his teeth and glared irritably at her. A smug smirk of his own made its way across his face when he thought of a reply. "Idiot, don't you know that it takes one to know its own species?"

The two went on with their banter, failing to notice the butler who was making his way towards them. From the way the sides of his mouth were tugged down and his narrowed eyes, he certainly did not look pleased.

"Yeah, at least I'm an idiot who knows that using dynamites to cook is stupid, stupid! And do you know what this means? This makes me a less idiotic idiot than you are!" The girl jutted her chin at him for emphasis and started cackling away like a maniac which instantaneously earned her an irked look from the chef.

"But still an idiot." His eyes rolled heavenwards exasperatedly. "And quit laughing like this! You sound like a horse on its asthma attack!"

"I _do not_ sound like that!"

"Yes, you do…AH! SEBASTIAN!"

Estella swivelled her head to where Bard's shocked face was facing, and gasped in surprise at the towering figure behind her. "Whoa! When the heck did you get here?"

"While you two were arguing like three year olds." Sebastian said in a bored tone, glancing down with a look of disinterest. His eyes were gleaming red with calculated impatience.

They gulped nervously. "Sorry, Sebastian!" The two said at the same time before turning to scowl at each other.

Sebastian sighed heavily, massaging his temple wearily. These humans will be the death of him, the butler thought irritably, watching the two on the floor get into a stare-down.

Clearing his throat to break the staring contest before it could turn into another ridiculous squabble, he spoke when he finally got their attention. "Guests will be arriving at six. We have five hours left to prepare for their arrival and the Phantomhive household should not be disappointing." Sebastian snapped the pocketwatch in his large hand. "Bard, marinate the beef that had just arrived. Leave the cooking to me."

The chef nodded mutely and went to mumble something under his breath that sounded a lot like 'snatching the limelight again'.

Sebastian glanced over at the red-haired servant. "And you will serve the Young Master his tea right after this. After you're done, wipe the windows." The girl nodded and sighed heavily at the thought of another back-breaking chore.

Satisfied, Sebastian turned away and proceeded to walk out of the room.

**...**

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><p>Sighing for who knew how many times of the day, Estella nodded distractingly as the chef continued his complains about Sebastian stealing his chance to shine once again. Ever since the butler left the room, his mouth was unstoppable, and she decided that she should tune out his yakking and just let him have his way.<p>

Pushing the door to the kitchen, she thanked god that they have reached and quickly moved away from Bard to the cabinets to start making tea. However, much to her dismay, the chef was still complaining even when they had already gone separate ways.

She groaned when she realized that she could hear him clearly even being at the other side of the kitchen. **"**Arghhh, Bard! I get it, okay?" She growled irritably, dropping another scoop of tea powder into the teapot. "You better get to work before Sebastian comes in."

Rolling her eyes, Estella shut the cupboard door and carried the tray holding the tea set out of the kitchen with her.

**….**

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><p>Glancing up at the door she stopped in front of, she carefully shifted the tray and freed a hand underneath to knock. At the third rap on the door, a voice grunted from the other side. "Come in."<p>

Pushing down the handle to do as told, she peeked around the door for a moment before entering the study. The moment the door was pushed close behind her, the stifling warmth which she failed to detect during the first few second being in the room came rushing to her senses, suffocating the every fibre of her with its overwhelming presence.

She stopped her gaze at the desk where the boy who she was to deliver the tray of tea to, sat behind.

The struggle to concentrate could be seen from his body language. His shoulders carried a tension she could see from their stiffness. One hand was holding a pen in a tight grip filled with frustration while the other was holding onto his fringe away from his eyes in also a grip tight with frustration. The scowl he wore on his face was the giveaway.

Dragging her gaze to the windows behind him, she snorted softly to herself. No wonder the room was so unbelievably warm and stifling!

She looked at the tightly shut windows incredulously and brought her gaze back down to Ciel with the same look of incredulity on her face which went unnoticed since he hasn't looked up from the desk even once ever since she stepped into the room.

Only a heavy sigh from Ciel came back in response – in which she was sure not produced as a response for the stare she sent across the room.

Wordlessly, Estella watched him run a hand through his hair in frustration. The same hand left his hair and descended down to the desk to make a grab at something beside the piece of paperwork he was working on, only to pass through air. It looked to her like he was trying to hold something he expected to be there.

The boy, who had finally, came to discover that he was grabbing nothing but air, flickered his eye to the front and realized that she has not moved from the door.

Not making a move to lift his head, he sent her a piercing look of impatience through his eye which was fixated on her."Why are still you standing there?" His question came out low and curt.

Estella jumped a little at the snappiness in his tone and frowned. "Don't you think it's a little too stuffy here? How are you able to stand doing all of _that_," she stared pointedly with a raised eyebrow at the seemingly endless piles of paperwork on his desk, "in this heat?"

Cutting across the room to the desk, she gently placed down the cup of tea she had prepared on the desk next to him and stalked over to the windows behind it with hands stretched out, ready to push them open.

"Don't." Surprise passing her features, she came to a stop but did not move her hands away from the window and toss Ciel whose back was to her a questioning look

"Why?" She quirked an eyebrow at him.

Reaching up to massage his temple, Ciel gritted his teeth in discomfort at the dull ache in his head and slowly rose from his chair. The breathlessness he was trying to hide from Estella ever since she came in could still be seen from the uneven heaves and falls of his chest.

He sucked in a gulp of air and pressingly tried to mute the heavy pants he has been emitting since morning, knowing he would need to spend the rest of his day on bed instead of his desk with paperwork if she found something wrong and informed Sebastian. Stopping work because of petty things like a fever would be absolutely silly.

Wiping away the grimace on his face, Ciel stepped around his chair and turned to her as steadily as he could, mentally crossing his fingers that she will not notice anything amiss about him. "It's chilly today." He said quietly, fighting to keep his face neutral as he took painfully slow steps towards her.

Estella tilted her head at the approaching male. "Chilly?" She looked out of the window to see a fairly still scenery behind her before turning back with a curious look. "Today is a rather humid day, don't you think?"

That comment, however, merely entered an ear and went out from another.

His mind just could not capture and process her words, not when it was at its scattered state. The world around him suddenly seemed like it was tilting and every sound seemed to have amplified which made his head hurt. Everything was starting to get hazy and cold.

He knew he has lost. The heavy pants he has been pressingly muting have somehow managed to slip away from his control and made their way into the almost too quiet room. With hands clenched tightly in fists, Ciel continued his way towards where he intended to go, ever slowly and agonizingly.

Estella tilted her head curiously at Ciel and scowled.

Something was wrong with him.

The way he walked was wobbly and slow and that was a rather strange sight to see. Not only that, his half-lidded eye held a sort of dullness. Like he was drunk or something. But when she took a second look at him, she noticed the pair of flushed cheeks and tiredness on that face. Highly aware of the heavy pants he was emitting, her suspicions started to shape.

"What's wrong with you? Are you alright?" She stepped forward cautiously with a concerned look forming on her face.

His mouth opened a little, about to give an answer he found difficult to come up with but ended up squinting numbly at her instead, feeling his strength seeping away as he continued lumbering forward.

His mind was too scattered at the moment to produce an answer but the anxious look on her face urged him on anyway. He summoned as much strength as he could and weakly blurted out. "There's…nothing wrong with me."

The world went black.

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><p><strong>I hope you like what you read! Though this chapter did not hold much….<strong>

**Kindly review! I'll say this again, "A LOT OF REIVEWS = HAPPY AND DRIVEN AUTHOR = FASTER UPDATES = HAPPY READERS!" By the way, pardon me for any errors you'd spotted in this chapter.**

**You will hear from me again, certainly.**


	36. Feverish

**I was lazy so I didn't touch the half-done Chapter 35. PLUS, I was also busy trying to adapt to my new school. **

**When I was finally not lazy to write this chapter, my laptop died on me and I had to get a new laptop. (Thank god I saved a copy of this chapter) The new one had to be configured by my school's IT department because I'll be using it for school. Lots of problems occurred after configuring it. **

**So after so long, here is the next chapter! This story has approximately nine more chapters to go and I am looking forward to the end of this story! **

**Please pardon any errors you spot beyond this note. Alright…read and review! 8D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 35<strong>

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><p>Estella glanced over at the door Sebastian disappeared behind a few minutes ago before turning back to the figure that was lying under the thick blanket of the spacious bed. Exhaling a tired sigh through her nose, she watched the heaves and falls of his chest which she noticed was much calmer after he was bathed by Sebastian. After the bath, the boy was changed into his striped pajamas and a medical white eye patch was now worn over his right eye instead of his usual black eye patch. He had regained conscious about half an hour ago and was now asleep.<p>

She let her eyes roamed his face briefly and released a sigh, letting a little smile curve her lips. The image of him looking fresher and less feverish was a relieving sight to see.

Gazing tiredly at the boy, her eyes drifted down to her arms. She languidly raised a hand to start massaging her left arm before switching hands to do the same for the right one, in hope to ease the soreness in those limbs.

Her arms were still slightly aching from the struggle she had to go through getting Ciel off her and up to his room.

Earlier on when he suddenly fell forward, she was left flabbergasted. She was too stunned to stop Ciel from falling onto her. Caught up in her surprise, she only realized that he had sent her sprawling across the floor along with him when she found herself staring at the ceiling. She had a hard time trying to get him off her and had to struggle between carrying and dragging him to get him to his room.

_Was it because of last night? _She raised her eyes to his face once again and studied him curiously. _He fell sick because he gave up his cloak to protect me…_Her hands curled into fists at the growing guilt in her. _Thank you and I'm so sorry. _

A knock on the door broke the silence in the room and her thoughts. She tore her eyes away from the boy and swiveled them over to the door to watch Sebastian entering with a stranger who she quickly figured was the doctor they have been waiting for.

With a respectful nod at the doctor, she quietly stepped aside as he approached the bed with Sebastian.

"Is he the patient?" Leaning back against the wall, Estella watched the doctor settle on the chair Sebastian had placed before going down to fetch the doctor.

She averted her gaze to the butler who gave a curt nod. "Yes. Please start, doctor." With that said, her eyes followed Sebastian as he turned around and strolled over to the spot next to her. A glance over at each other, both turned to watch the doctor carry out his examination in silence.

**….**

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><p>Estella watched Sebastian silently shut the door behind them.<p>

Sebastian turned to the doctor expectantly. "Doctor?"

"Right away." The man nodded. "He has come down with a flu. Make sure he gets plenty of rest. It is the best that he does not do anything that will cause him stress-"

"Means no work?" Her eyebrow arched questioningly at the doctor.

The doctor glanced over at her in surprise before looking annoyed for a moment for her interruption. A neutral look took its place on his face again as he cleared his throat. "That will be…of course."

"Hmm, you may continue doctor." She nodded and shrugged, ignoring how Sebastian's eyes had cut over to her. Impatience was gleaming in his crimson eyes. He was clearly annoyed with her for her interruption too.

"Preferably two to three days of rest will be good for him and do monitor him constantly within these days. There should be someone in there," The doctor shot a pointed look at the closed door of the room they just exited from before turning back to them, "to watch over him over the nights too. Just to make sure that his temperature does not go too high."

Sensing finality in the man's words, Sebastian inquired politely. "Is that all, Doctor?"

"Yes, that should be all."

**….**

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><p>Shuddering at the morning air the moment she pushed the thick blanket off her, she could feel the hairs on her arms stand at the chilliness in the air. Stretching out her arms with a big yawn, she swung herself off the bed and crossed her room to the clothes rack to grab a pair of coffee brown long pants. Running her hands down her calves frantically to calm the goose bumps on them, she quickly put on the pants and headed out into the quiet hallway.<p>

With another yawn, she lumbered forward, passing a few doors before stopping at one. As quietly as possible, she pushed down its handle and slid through the gap when she pushed the door open. Once she was in, she closed the door to shut out the chilly air from the hallway.

Turning away from the door, she tiredly glanced over at the clock in time to see its hour hand strike 'III' which was the Romanic symbol for three. She let out a tired sigh. She has woken herself up at three in the morning to check on the male who was currently lying a few feet away on his bed, asleep. Previously at two o'clock, she had done the same thing.

"_I'm putting you in charge of the Young Master. Check on him every hour. You are excused from your duties until he is well again_." Sebastian's instruction from earlier resonated in her head as she walked closer to the male with sleepy half-lidded eyes.

"Get well soon, Phantomhive…" She brushed his fringe aside and placed the back of her hand on his forehead to check his temperature, only to withdraw it back quickly. He felt warmer than an hour ago, she thought with mild surprise.

Walking to the tub of water on the chair by at the foot of the bed, she fished out the cloth in the cold water and squeezed it drier before heading back to his side. She brushed his fringe aside once again and placed the cloth on his forehead. A soft groan immediately escaped the boy's mouth when his forehead came in contact with it. She caught little movements under his eyelids when she gave a quick sweep of her gaze over his face but quickly brushed it away as just a reaction to the sudden coolness on his skin.

With a yawn, Estella turned away with a strong desire to head back to sleep and took her first step towards the door, mentally reminding herself to check on him the next hour.

All of a sudden, she felt herself being tugged back by something warm around her left wrist.

_What the… _She thought in surprise as she felt herself pulled backwards. She watched the world around her moved alarmingly quickly as her sleepy mind continued struggling to assimilate what was happening. However, she was obviously not quick enough.

Stumbling backwards onto the bed, she felt herself land on it and subsequently, pulled back by a pair of arms to a warm breathing object. Frowning dumbly, she slowly shifted her head with a puzzled look on her face to identify the object, clearly still unsure what just happened.

A pair of tired-looking dark blue eyes belonging to her master were found staring at her through partly-closed eyelids when she turned.

Silence hung in the air between them as she returned the stare with owlishly blinks. The soft ticking sound of the clock suddenly sounded seemingly loud and unnerving to her ears.

It was then when she finally realize that she was on the bed in the arms of the boy under her care. Her eyes widened and her mouth went agape as she continued to stare in shock at the face which was hovering over hers. With words stuck in her throat, her eyes darted to the arm he used to prop his head off the bed underneath before drifting back to his face once again.

"Phantomhive…?" She managed to croak out, finally gaining back her voice. "W-What in the world are you doing?" A bewildered look appeared on her face.

However, as if he was trying to comprehend her question, the boy remained silent, blinking once, twice at her. It was as though there was nothing wrong lying on a bed with a servant.

The bewildered frown on her face intensified at his silence as she continued to look at him strangely.

With what felt like a long time, Ciel suddenly released a sigh. "You know, this is the fifth time I hear you entering my room." His voice sounded raspy from his cold. "I can't have this all night long. You're staying here for tonight."

Silence.

"What?"

Incredulity formed on her face as she started to squirm in his arms in panic. "No freaking way-"

"Do not argue." Ciel rolled his eyes heavenwards with exasperation peeking into his action and rested them back on her face with an unimpressed look, sighing heavily. "Do you know how difficult it is to stay asleep with someone who moves like an elephant," His face darkened slightly as he talked, "walking in and out of my room _every_ hour?

Estella threw him a weak glare. "For your information, _I_ can't stay asleep either because I need to take care of _you_."

Returning the glare with a bored look, he broke into a small yawn and drawled. "_That's why _you should just stay here tonight. Problem solved. So, stop asking questions and_ sleep_." He lazily ran a hand through his messy hair before cut his eyes over to her sharply. "_That_ is an order."

Mouth slightly agape at him, she shot him another incredulous look, with an eyebrow twitching almost imperceptibly.

"Listen to me." Ciel sighed. "If you want me to recover, you will need to let me have my sleep." He eyed her with a raised eyebrow, as if waiting for her to agree.

His words hung in the silence.

"Fine." Estella huffed grudgingly. Agreement could be seen from the way the incredulous look on her face faltered and how her stiff shoulders relaxed.

Ciel nodded. "That's better. " He let out a yawn and plopped himself down on his pillow, shifting away from her to make a small distance between them. Abruptly, as though his body had a mind of its own, a small smile abruptly played across his lips just as he was turning over to face away from her, catching him in surprise.

Still disturbed by that strange action, he heard the girl behind him hesitantly uttered. "G-Good night, Phantomhive."

"…Good night."

**….**

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><p>The dark sky started lightening up as the sun climbed its way up to the sky. Yet, the Phantomhive manor was still in slumber, perhaps, except for Sebastian who was already busy setting the manor ready for a new day.<p>

Gentle morning light silently crept into the room through the little gap between the drapes hanging by the window and cast itself on the sleeping pair. Somehow, it was able to make the female stir.

The movement behind her eyelids increased as her senses gradually alerted her to her surroundings. She slowly became aware of the warmth enveloped around her, then the light rhythmic breathing movement against her and finally, soft snores which were not hers.

Mildly annoyed by the snores, Estella sleepily tried to shift away, only to feel herself being pulled back even closer to the breathing warmth which was pressed against her entire length. A frown marred her peaceful, sleeping face at the ticklish feeling caused by the breathing behind. Discomfort grew as the ticklish sensation intensified.

Finally, she forced her eyes opened and groggily turned her head to identify the thing responsible for the ticklish feeling. Blinking sleepily, she frowned in confusion at the sight of her sleeping master.

_Phantomhive… He looks so peaceful when he's asleep. Like a child. But why is he here? Shouldn't he in his room? What are we doing sleeping together- _Wait, what?Her eyes sprang wide opened. Now, she was completely awake.

_Oh right...Because I 'moved like an elephant'. _She threw her eyes heavenwards exasperatedly.

Glancing up at the sleeping face of the boy, her eyes drifted down to his arms which were caging her by her waist. A tint of pink colored her cheeks at the sight of intimate-looking gesture as her heart did what felt like a somersault.

Too embarrassed to care whether her action would wake the boy up, Estella swung herself off the bed, tearing herself free from his hold, and stalked out of the room, leaving behind a sleepy-looking Ciel staring after her in confusion through half-lidded eyes.

**….**

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><p>With narrowed eyes, Ciel glanced at the white horse and back to the redhead servant. "Why did you bring me here? To stare at a horse?" His voice was low with boredom. He certainly looked unimpressed from the way the gleam in his eye dulled and the way one of his eyebrows was quirked.<p>

Estella rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly. "It's good to take a walk sometimes, you know. Staying cooped up in the manor all day is very unhealthy."

"How is visiting the horses a walk?" Ciel snorted incredulously as he circled around the white horse which was noisily crunching down on the apple Estella fed him. Letting out a sneeze mid-way, he cleared his throat and asked with mild interest, "So this is the horse Sebastian assigned to you? What did you name it then?"

Perking up at his question, a small teasing smirk played across her face as she watched the boy took the last apple from her hand and raised it up to the animal. "Ciel."

"WHAT?" The apple which was heading towards the anticipating horse's mouth rolled off his outstretched hand as the boy whipped around with an incredulous look on his face, only to see her struggling not to laugh.

"Got you." With amusement and laughter dancing in her eyes, the teasing smirk on her face widened. "Her name is Apple, since she likes apples so much."

"Tch." He snatched up the dropped apple at his feet and brought it towards the horse which in turn excitedly took it into its mouth. Giving the horse a few pats, Ciel strolled towards and past Estella, stopping for a brief moment to address the servant. "Come, play chess with me."

She raised her eyebrows at his retreating back in puzzlement. "Chess?"

With a shrug, she started forward to follow him back to the manor.

**….**

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><p>"Checkmate." Ciel stated with finality in his voice as he stamped the black piece in his hand onto the board before glancing up coolly at the bewildered girl in a chair across him. "You've lost again."<p>

"Again?" Estella furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. "Arghhh, l quit! Chess is so boring anyway-"

"Don't be a sore loser." Ciel drawled, leaning into his chair with a nonchalant shrug. "You think it's boring because you'd never won a single round." He let out a few of coughs and sniffed.

A scowl marred her face. "You…" She let out a resigned sigh. "Fine, I suck at chess, okay?"

"Hmm…" Ciel raised his gaze sharply to her face with a look of surprise, but that look on his face quickly flattered. "I'm surprised that you could admit that so easily."

She glanced away childishly, crossing her arms. "I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that."

Lazily placing his right elbow on the armrest of his chair, Ciel snorted softly at her childishness and rested his head on his hand. "Suits me fine." He watched in silence as Estella glanced around his study with a bored look.

Studying the girl with deep thoughts, Ciel frowned at her curiously. "Blancbaston," The said servant snapped her attention over to him. "What do you plan to do after you are finished with SIGMA?" He croaked out the last part and coughed when he was done.

A surprised look appeared on her face at that unexpected question and was quickly replaced by a serious expression. "Honestly…I haven't give it much a thought." She shrugged." Maybe I will just let myself die with them." Estella stated nonchalantly as though she was just talking about the weather.

Silence.

"W-What?" He felt his heart skipped a beat at that unexpected answer and strangely, a jolt of anxiety was the next thing which followed after. "That's-"

Abruptly, the doors of his study burst opened in the midst of his sentence, revealing a concerned-looking Elizabeth rushing in.

"My poor Ciel! Are you still having a fever?"

"No, it has subsided. I'll be fine." Ciel let out a heavy sigh. "But Elizabeth, what did I say about running in my manor-"The rest of his sentence was left unheard when Elizabeth pulled him in roughly for a hug.

The sound of a chair being pushed across the floor brought the two's attentions over to Estella who bowed in return. "Excuse me, I'll be off in a bit to make some tea for you. What would you like to drink, Lady Elizabeth?"

"Oh, Estella, you surprised me!" Elizabeth released the boy in surprise. "Earl Grey will be fine, thank you."

"You're welcome." Estella threw a small smile at the girl and started her way to the door. "I'll be back with the tea soon!" The door closed behind her.

Still disturbed by what Estella said before his fiancé came in, Ciel bored a scowl into the door the servant disappeared behind, unaware of the curious look directed at him from Elizabeth.

His scowl deepened.

It was strange. Her answer just did not sit right with him. But why did it not? He pondered, shifting his attention to Elizabeth who he noticed was still standing and had a frown on her face.

"Sit down, Elizabeth." He said, gesturing to the chair which was previously occupied by Estella. He noticed that the frown stayed on as the girl wordlessly went over and sat down. Concerned by her unusual quietness, he leaned forward with a frown of his own. "Are you alright? Is something troubling you?"

"Huh?" Elizabeth raised her eyes to him in confusion, but quickly recovered. The frown was replaced by a cheerful smile. "Of course, I'm alright!_ I_ should be the one asking that question! And don't worry, nothing's troubling me."

Silence played into the air of the study the moment she was finished, only to be interrupted by Ciel a brief moment later.

"Elizabeth…" He absentmindedly played with the ring on his thumb as he eyed the smile on her face. She was clearly not telling the truth. "I've known you since we're children. Something _is_ troubling you, Elizabeth."

His suspicion was confirmed when the girl instinctively froze at his declare.

The cheerful light in her green eyes died down as she hesitantly spoke. "Alright…I _am _troubled." As if on cue, the smile on her face flattered the moment she said those words. A solemn look took its place on her face now.

Behind the straight face, Ciel was slightly taken aback by her sudden change of demeanour. Seriousness was a foreign side of hers to see.

Elizabeth gave out a long sigh and spoke nervously. "I noticed you've grown quite attached to her. You have changed…"

Ciel blinked at her answer, shocked by her declaration.

"Changed? In what way?" Ciel sat upright with a frown. "And grown attached to her? You mean Blancbaston?" Incredulity grew in his voice as he spoke. "I don't think I've changed. Growing attached to that servant is out of question, Elizabeth."

"It's out of question, but you still do." The girl across shook her head. "Everyone can see it. Tell me honestly, what picture do you see when you think of the future? Is Estella part of that picture?

Ciel quirked an eyebrow at those questions.

"Don't be ridiculous. Why would she be in the picture?" His eye narrowed at the absurdity of her question. "Elizabeth," Leaning fully into his chair, Ciel ran a hand through his hair. "I'm practically married to my work. All I think about is _work_."

Falling into silence, Elizabeth tilted her head curiously at him, as if trying to digest what he just said. However, from the uncertain look on her face, Elizabeth did not seemed convinced. "Do you have any special feelings for her?"

Pause.

"Definitely not."

They fell into silence. The room was stifled with the awkward skittishness between them.

Suddnenly, a knock at the door echoed into the almost too quiet room.

"Come in." Ciel called out stiffly as he shifted in his chair and let out a soft cough.

The door burst opened to reveal Estella rushing in with a silver food trolley. "Sorry for taking so long with the tea, Lady Elizabeth. The water wasn't hot enough so I had to boil the water again." She babbled, completely oblivious to the stiff air between the two.

"Don't worry about it, Estella!" A small smile forcefully made its way across Elizabeth's face as she replied. "I'm not thirsty anyway."

The teapot and cups clacked as the said servant rolled the trolley towards the table. Stopping the trolley the moment she reached them, Estella grinned sheepishly at Elizabeth. "I'll get your tea to you as soon as possible, my lady." She bowed before turning back to the trolley.

"Don't forget me, Blancbaston." Ciel added casually, turning his attention to Elizabeth who he realized was studying him with curious eyes. However, the curiosity in them quickly vanished when Elizabeth found him staring back with a warning look.

Elizabeth let out a resigned sigh, deciding to change the subject. "So, where are your friends from India?"

"London." Ciel relaxed at the change of subject. "In my townhouse." He replied, absentmindedly glancing over at Estella who was fumbling noisily with the tea set before glancing back at Elizabeth.

His fiance nodded "How long are they-"

CRASH!

A sharp shattering sound at the side brought their attention back to Estella who was looking horrified at something at her feet.

Frowning in puzzlement, Ciel glanced down to see what she was looking at, only to realize she had broken a teacup. "Oh dear…" He caught Elizabeth mumble under her breath.

"Sorry, my hand slipped." Estella entered his view, hurriedly crouching down to the bits and pieces of the porcelain on the floor. "I'll clear this right away." Her fingers made a grab for one of the fragments, just as he was about to warn her against picking them up.

True to what he was about to warn, a curse of pain emitted from the servant. "Damn it!"

"You idiot."

Like an act of instinct, Ciel found himself off his chair and crouched down next to her, already tending to her injured fingers with his handkerchief. The sight of crimson blood trickling down her fingers seemed to be the trigger. It was as though his body had a mind of its own.

"Ciel…"

The boy glanced up at his sound of his name, only to see Elizabeth glancing down at him with an unreadable look which sent a sense of dread sinking down his stomach.

Realizing his mistake, Ciel slipped his hands away from Estella's and slowly stood. "Clean up that wound, Blancbaston." He shook his head at Elizabeth.

He knew the shaking of his head was meant to convince Elizabeth to believe that his action held no significance, but why did it feel like it was for himself?

Confusion arose at his own action as he turned away and walked to the door as nonchalant as he could manage. "I'll get Sebastian to clean up this mess." He said, exiting through the door and into the empty hallway.

Fully aware of the eyes on his back, Ciel shut the door and turned to the right, falling back onto the wall with a deep exasperated sigh.

An uneven portion of the wall was digging into his back, but he was too deep in thought to care. Uncertainties and confusion were overwhelming. Behind his closed eyes, questions were suffocating his head.

Why did he react like that?

When did he start to care so much about her?

When did she become more than a servant or a 'pawn' to him?

Did he have any special feelings for her?

Maybe Elizabeth was right. Maybe he has _indeed_ grown attached to her after all.

With a frustrated groan, Ciel stalked his way down the hallway with a great desire to shut himself in his room.

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><p><strong>I hope you like what you read! Please REVIEW! I have put up a poll regarding this story so please participate in that. <strong>

_**KINDLY REVIEW!**_


	37. Danse Macabre

**I have admit that I was distracted by...cat videos. I don't why but my current obsession is cats! I think I wrote too much Kuroshitsuji (Sebastian's influence?) to the point that I'm going crazy over cats. **

**I actually login into Youtube just to watch cat videos. LOL! **

**Okay, this chapter was pretty difficult to write as well and exceptionally long compared to the usual. **

**Anyway, enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 36<strong>

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><p>His flu came and gone rather quickly under the care of his red-haired servant, however, he still felt sick, disturbed by what happened a few days ago. Something that was foreign. A discovery which he simply could not bring himself to believe in.<p>

It has already been two days since Elizabeth visited him, and yet, he still could not get her words out of his mind.

"_Do you have any special feelings for her?_"

It was hard to believe but he realized, much to his dismay, that there was a possibility lying somewhere deep inside himself.

And, this realization was grinding on his nerve. He was utterly disturbed by his own emotions and actions. No matter how much he tried to stay professional, his body just seemed to be driven by his emotions than his thoughts whenever he was around the servant girl. Those actions were, as though, instincts.

Being the last Phantomhive, he had a duty on his shoulders. It was morally wrong for someone like him to harbor feelings for a servant. Morally wrong for someone who was supposed to only live for revenge, to develop special feelings for someone like any other ordinary humans.

What was the matter with him?

With so much frustration, Ciel leaned fully into his chair and tipped his head back with a groan. He had been feeling so terribly restless and frustrated, and had been like this ever since he discovered _that_ possibility. What he thought about all day was that disturbing possibility.

_Get a hang of yourself, Ciel!_ He thought irritably as he pushed himself off the chair before maneuvering his way around his desk and to the door.

It has been already the fourth time he went out for a walk around his manor, but he still badly needed another.

**….**

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><p><strong>The Trancy Manor. <strong>

Under the watch of a pair of golden eyes and a pair of curious pale blue eyes, the black fountain pen elegantly danced its way across the paper, producing words after words which looked as elegant as it danced. The golden eyes belonging to Claude stared dully at the article. He was remained completely unfazed despite being poked continuously at the side by young Trancy who was leaning over the desk nosily, watching him write the invitation with child-like curiosity.

The butler did not even blink an eye at his master's childish antics.

Dear Lord Ciel Phantomhive,

_On behalf of the Count Alois Trancy, I write to Lord Ciel Phantomhive to apologize for my master's discourtesy at the ball at the other day and request your most honored presence at the ball to be held here at the Trancy Mansion tomorrow afternoon at four o'clock. Count Alois Trancy hopes for Miss Estella Blancbaston, your servant, to attend this special event as well._

_We all hope you will be able to join us._

Sincerely yours,

Count Alois Trancy

As written by Claude Faustus, The Butler of the Trancy Household

Just as Claude was about to reach for the letter he had written, a hand invaded his vision and rudely snatched up the paper. "It's done! It's done!" His eyebrows furrowed slightly in annoyance as he looked up to watch his master dance around with the paper. "Claude~" Alois paused in the midst of his dance and turned to the butler. "Have you set up the stage?"

"Yes, My Highness." Claude stood away from the desk and bowed stiffly.

"Really?" Alois excitedly darted over to the window with the letter in his hand. A grin cracked across his face at the sight of the colossal chessboard he was referring to as the 'stage' sitting near the porch of the manor. "Wonderful! Ciel and Luka will definitely love it!" Grinning ear-to-ear, he threw his arms up into the air. "This is going to be so fun!"

"Pardon me, Your Highness." Claude adjusted the spectacles sitting on his nose and walked over to his master, plucking the letter out of young Trancy's hand. "In order for our guests to come for the ball, you will need to let me send out this invitation to Lord Ciel Phantomhive."

Alois's eyes shone at the instant 'guests' was mentioned. "Good Claude, go and send it out!" He spun around to face the butler and sashayed away from the window, before throwing himself on the chair Claude previously occupied.

The grin on Alois's face flattered quickly, only for a dark crazed look in the form of narrowed eyes to take its place. "Ciel Phantomhive…" He shuddered, slyly running his tongue lightly across his upper lip as he watched his butler disappear behind the door.

**….**

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><p><strong>The Phantomhive Manor.<strong>

Sebastian delicately placed the teacup on the desk in front of Ciel. "Your next lesson on today's schedule is politics. Professor Macmillan will be here by 6pm."

Ciel made a face at his butler's announcement and muttered disdainfully. "As though that dance lesson wasn't enough…" He let out a yawn before picking up the cup before him.

Amused, Sebastian made a barely noticeable raise of an eyebrow in return before turning back to pick up a silver tray from the food cart beside him. "Also," The butler extended the tray towards the boy to pass him the single letter on it. "There is a letter for you."

The boy froze for a second at those words before lifting the cup away from his lips. "From who?" He set aside the cup and glanced down at the tray, only to widen his eye in mild surprise when he casted his gaze onto the letter.

On the wax seal of the envelope held the symbol of a spider which he knew so well. It represents The 'Spider', also known as the _Trancy. _Investigations had been done on the Trancy ever since the last time he encountered Alois Trancy and his demon butler, Claude Faustus. After thorough investigation on the subject, suspicions were casted on the Trancy of being involved in the Phantomhive's tragedy.

Taking the letter in his hand, Ciel narrowed his eyes in suspicion, glaring at it as though it was Alois Trancy himself. "What does that imbecile wants now?" He grabbed up the letter opener and expertly cut through the wax seal on the envelope before slipping out the letter in it.

Ciel pulled open the paper and ran his eye across the words on it, reading aloud.

"Count Trancy apologizes for his impoliteness at the ball the other day, and requests my most honored presence at a ball to be held at Trancy Mansion tomorrow after at four o'clock. He wants me to bring Blancbaston along too."

The glare on his face intensified when he was done reading. Closing his eye in annoyance, Ciel wordlessly tore the paper into four before carelessly dropping them onto the desk. "Alois Trancy…" He muttered hatefully, opening his eye once again to reveal another glare.

"What is your decision?" Sebastian inquired.

"We are going tomorrow." Ciel crossed his arms across his chest. "We'll see what Trancy is up to this time." His eye drifted down to the torn letter in front of him and narrowed. "But Blancbaston will not be coming along."

**….**

* * *

><p>It was already three in the noon and they were ready to set off for the Trancy's.<p>

"The Young Master and I will be going out in a bit." Sebastian announced to the servants. He turned his head to Bard. "I'll put you in charge of Estella's training."

"Yes sir!" The chef immediately saluted to his order.

Estella raised her eyebrows at the butler. "I'm not coming along this time? Where are you two going?"

"To Trancy." A voice which did not belong to Sebastian replied.

All eyes swiveled over to the direction of the voice to see Ciel standing by the door, right outside the kitchen they were currently occupying. "Young Master!" The three servants who was standing in a line beside Estella, chorused at the sight of their master.

"That loony?" A grimace appeared on Estella's face. "You know what? Thank you for not letting me come along."

Meyrin snickered at her comment and nudged her teasingly. "That boy seemed rather infatuated with you. He was clinging onto you the last time we visited his manor!" This comment drew smirks on Bard and Finny's faces.

"Argh," Estella pulled a face. "Don't remind me."

A feint cough from Ciel brought their attention back to him. "Complete your chores and you are free to call it a day."

"Yes master!"

Ciel nodded and turned to Sebastian. "Let's go Sebastian."

**….**

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><p>The moment their master and Sebastian drove away in a carriage, the servants dispersed to carry out their duties. Finny disappeared out into the garden while Meyrin eagerly dashed out of the kitchen and to the grand staircase to polish its bannisters. They were all eager to call it a day.<p>

"Was it only me who feels that the Young Master seemed a little bit different?" Bard suddenly asked Estella when they were on their way to the training room.

Estella quirked an eyebrow at his question. "What do you mean?"

"How should I put it?" Bard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He seemed…warmer." He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair in frustration at the lack of word to describe what he really wanted to say.

An incredulous look appeared on Estella's face. "Warmer…?"

Frowning at the incredulous look on her face, Bard waved his hand lazily at her and paced forward when he realized that the training room was just a few more steps away. "Nevermind..." He stopped before the door and pushed it open. "Alright, let's get this training over with!"

**….**

* * *

><p>Ciel sat alone in the dimly-lit carriage compartment, but that was something he couldn't care less about. In fact, quiet times like these are his favorite moment to enter his mind palace.<p>

He and Sebastian had done several investigations on the Trancys ever since the Halloween ball they attended at their manor. Right now, behind closed eyes, he was busy digging up what they had gathered about Trancys from the depth of his mind.

Many incidents that had endangered Her Majesty occurred in England's underworld.

The Queen's Watchdog – the Phantomhive household – covertly settles such matters while the Queen's Spider – the Trancy household – covertly erases any evidence.

Both households have earned the Queen's trust as 'Evil Noblemen', but Alois Trancy wasn't satisfied with that.

He wanted the Queen's favor all to himself, so he schemed against the Watchdog, spreading a rumor that he was possessed by a demon.

At that time, the late Phantomhive head was investigating a case of spontaneous human combustion in which the cause was unknown. Alois spread words that the Phantomhive themselves were behind the incidents and arbitrarily decided to eliminate them. He called his actions an exorcism.

Alois Trancy was the one soiled his pride. He was the reason behind the fall of the Phantomhives.

_That's it._

The world around him faded back into his consciousness just as he arrived to a conclusion.

With his mind finally made up, Ciel opened his eyes. "Alois Trancy…" Glaring at the wall across him, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "So, it is you who I need to kill then."

A murderous gleam flashed across his eye as he turned his head to look out at the orange evening sky which looked like it was burning in fierce flames.

Just like the resolve within him. "This time,_ they _will be the ones to perform the Danse Macabre."

**….**

* * *

><p>"I have to admit… *pant*…you are getting better… *pant*… at this!" Bard hastily retreated and dodged the leg that was swinging towards his head.<p>

"I-I am?" A cocky smirk played across her face at his declaration as she bend backwards, enough to allow herself to evade the fist the chef tried to deck her in the face.

Bard narrowed his eyes in annoyance at the smug look forming on her face. "Don't get cocky yet, brat!" He swung an uppercut towards her.

She panicked a little at the sight of the fist flying towards her but quickly and rather clumsily caught the fist before it could get to her. "No one's *pant* getting cocky, old man!"

"Old man?!" Bard roared in bewilderment as he tugged his hand out of her grip. "For god's sake, I'm only twenty–"

Suddenly, the door of the training room burst opened.

Both stopped in their spar and swung their heads over to the door, in time to see a panicking Finny dashing in.

"Finny?" Estella tilted her head in puzzlement at the boy's odd behavior.

"No time!" Finny shook his head frantically at them. His eyes were wide and moving to and fro between them wildly. "The manor is…*pant*… UNDER ATTACK!"

Pause.

"_What_?!"

**….**

* * *

><p>"So, you came?" A very familiar cheerful voice he hates greeted him as he stepped out of his carriage.<p>

Ciel turned his body towards the direction it came from with a glare on his face and made a step forward, out of the way of the carriage's door so that Sebastian could close it.

"Alois Trancy." He merely said in a hostile tone as his glare stayed unwaveringly on the two figures by the giant doors of the manor.

Alois smiled widely in return, waving with both hands enthusiastically before glancing behind Ciel for the redhead girl.

Ciel narrowed his eye darkly when he noticed this and realized what Alois was doing. "Don't bother. I didn't bring her along." He said, a touch of impatience creeping into his voice.

"No Luka…?" Alois pouted and shrugged, which was a calm reaction much to Ciel's surprise. He was expecting a tantrum. "Oh well…." Ciel watched him turn to his butler. "C'mon Claude, greet our guests."

His butler beside him, nodded and bowed to them. "Welcome, and thank you for coming."

An unreadable gleam flashed across Sebastian's eyes just as they met with Claude's.

"Ciel! Ciel!" The two butlers broke the intense stare-down at that to see Alois skipping excitedly over to the other boy. "Look at what Claude has set up for you!" He began to lead Ciel towards the left patio of his manor, tugging childishly at the left sleeve of his coat.

With an irritated look on his face, Ciel pulled his arm away from the boy and hissed coldly. "Don't touch me so carelessly."

Alois pouted, looking like a dejected puppy. "Ciel is so meannnnn…"

Ciel remained unmoved. "Quit wasting time, what is the thing you want me to look at?"

Young Trancy's face lit up. "Come, a special stage has been set up for you!" He let out a giggle and skipped forward.

As they continued walking, a large chess board came into view. It was surrounded by three equally huge war statues.

"This is…" Ciel paused in his steps at the sight of the impressive 'stage' before him.

Sebastian shifted his gaze away from the chessboard and to his master. "An ancient battleground."

"Listen, Ciel."

The two turned their heads to Alois to see him standing by his butler.

"How about this? Our butlers will fight in our place. The one who is able to dance until the end wins. The loser will have to obey any of the winner's orders." With a playful smirk, Alois did a little spin. "Would you be happy with such a ball?"

Sebastian bend down so his mouth was next to Ciel's left ear. "It seems they were also planning a fight to the death."

With raised eyebrows, an amused smirk grew across the boy's face. "Well, I'd say that is a ball that will suit us."

Ciel glanced over to Alois with boldness in his eyes, just in time to lock eyes with the other boy.

"It's on, Trancy."

**….**

* * *

><p>She knew the manor had underwent this sort of thing before, but it still felt strange to her. Maybe because this was her first time fighting together with the other servants against attackers. But who was attacking them this time?Trying to push down the fear and nervousness, Estella watched Bard pull the lid of the box off to reveal six identical sets of well-polished silver revolvers.<p>

The three others servants were really bad at doing mundane things, seeing how they always messed up in their chores. But she knew, she _knew_ thatthey were good, extremely good in this area. Combat was their true strength.

She would hate to be a burden to them.

"Brat, take these." Estella broke out of her thoughts at that voice and raised her head to see Bard holding out all six revolvers to her.

"Thanks…" She mumbled as she hesitantly took the weapons in her hands before securing them into the holsters she fastened against the sides of her thighs, her hips and near her rear earlier. Her fear and nervousness escalated at the thought of her first battle and they were now all written on her face.

"What's with that face?" Bard raised an eyebrow at her. "Not so cocky anymore, huh?"

"That's not it." Estella averted her eyes away stubbornly. "I'm just a little worried."

"Oh yeah, it's your first time aye?" A grin cracked across the chef's face. "Trust me, you are ready for this. C'mon, what are all these training for? Show them what you are made of!" He clamped his hands down on her shoulders. "My advice to you is to just be yourself. Let that fighting spirit in you do the fighting for you, brat!"

With stoic determination on her face, she stared hard at the older male and nodded fiercely.

Satisfied to see that he had managed to relieve the girl's uneasiness, a hard look took its place on his face. "Alright, off you go! Join the others! Help them to eliminate the enemies!" As if on cue, a loud 'boom' sounded from downstairs and was followed by a tremor which shook the manor up a little.

They glanced about wildly as the short-lived tremor came and gone.

"That must be Finny!" Bard exclaimed before glancing down at Estella with an urgent look. "Go now!"

"Right!" Estella spun on her heels to face the door behind and sprinted towards it. "You better not die, old man!" She yelled over her shoulders just as she swerved around the door and disappeared out of sight.

Rolling his eyes heavenwards exasperatedly at the usage of his disdainful new nickname, Bard turned around to snatch up the rifle he had prepared for himself with an unimpressed look. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that…"

**….**

* * *

><p>As soon as Estella turned in at the next corner of the hallway, she was greeted by a stretch of hallway infested with dark-clothed figures. When they were alerted to her presence, she realized that she could not identify them as the only visible part of their faces were their eyes.<p>

But she was not going to stop to ponder over that. Just eliminate, as Bard had told her.

With her feet firmly planted shoulder-width apart to the ground like what she did during countless training, she yanked the revolvers at her thighs out of their holsters and pointed them at the enemies. "Eat this!" She fired, yelling fiercely.

The weapons in her hands fired off powerfully, ripping holes into their bodies.

_That's right. Just like how I practiced! _

Estella watched the advancing invaders fell one after another as she paced down the hallway.

_Okay, time to switch! _She ceased the firing when she realized that the number was small enough for her to handle, and kept the smoking revolvers in their holsters.

Noticing an attacker from the side of her eyes, she curled her hand into a fist and deftly knocked the attacker down before pulling out one of the revolvers she previously kept and fired at his head. Now that she was sure that the attacker was going to permanently stay on the floor, she put away her weapon once again before moving her way down the hallway to meet the other approaching attackers.

**….**

* * *

><p>Ciel was absolutely disgusted with the vulgar display Claude put up trying to retrieve a deadly-looking sword right out of the maid's mouth. He didn't fail to notice the droplets of saliva that flew off from the saliva-soaked sword when it was completely free from Hannah. However, his interest in the sword took its place in the form of wide eyes, instead of a grimace.<p>

Ciel watched the two butlers dance across the checkered floor of the giant chessboard below._ What are you going do now, Sebastian?_ His eye narrowed at the sword in Claude's hand.

"Ciel~" The cushion underneath him shifted slightly to the additional weight as Alois plopped down next to him with an excited grin on his face. "Look at Claude's sword, Ciel."

"Yeah." The dark-haired boy's did not even spare a glance at Alois. "It's pretty scary." He said monotonously as he continued watching the ongoing duel.

Silence once again filled the air between them as Alois too turned his attention back to the duel.

However, the silence was broken shortly when a sly idea struck Ciel. "Hey," The boy turned to the Trancy Earl. "Would you mind showing me your house, Alois Trancy?"

**….**

* * *

><p>Estella gave a finishing blow to the last of the attackers she found on the few stretches of hallways with a harsh uppercut to the underside of his chin and watched the clothed figure crumbled to the floor in front of her. Panting heavily, she looked over her shoulder only to realize she had created a mess, but at the same time, she was amazed by the scene she had created.<p>

Behind her was a mixture of either dead or unconscious people, scattered all over the hallway.

Dropping her stance with a relieved smile on her face, she hunched over with a loud tired sigh. Looking down wearily at her hands, she noted the redness in her knuckles from too much punching, as well as the soreness in her body which resulted from getting hit so many times.

"Alright, time to find the others…" The red-haired girl murmured to herself as she busied herself with the revolvers at her thighs. Reloading new bullets into them, she set them back into their holsters once she was done.

Taking a deep breath, stoic determination took its place over her face as she sprinted forward.

**….**

* * *

><p>Adrenaline was burning in her blood as she swerved into another corner. Her ice blue eyes looked even sharper with caution as they darted from side to side.<p>

_Looks like I'm near the entrance hall!_ Estella thought as she raced down the hallway.

Gunshots could be heard as she got nearer to the place in mind.

Almost instinctively, her hands flew to the revolvers at her moving thighs at the sound of gunshots as she picked up her pace. At the same time, the look in her eyes was hardened with a fierce gleam. With her heart pounding wildly in her chest and her muscles clenched with readiness, Estella pulled out the revolvers in one swift move as she skidded to a stop before the next stretch of the hallway.

Cautiously, she eased herself into the hallway with a wary look. Seeing that the hallway was empty, Estella slid the revolvers back into the holsters and made her way down the hallway to the entrance hall where the gunshots were emitting from. She could feel the protest from her blistered feet and aches in her limbs as she padded down.

As the red-haired girl got closer to the commotion, she watched a lone figure suddenly come into view ahead. Breath hitching in surprise, her survival instincts in the form of tensed shoulders and rigid muscles kicked in when she caught sight of it.

_Who is that? _

Her hands hovered over the revolvers at her thighs as she crept fixed on the figure ahead, the details on it became clearer as she moved down the hallway.

_Is that…_

Her eyes widen in recognition at the familiar cherry red hair which was tied up in pigtails and the maid uniform the person has.

_It's Meyrin!_

Relief to see a familiar face, she sprinted forward but only to stop in her tracks when she noticed the breath-taking scene before her.

On the top of the grand staircase, Meyrin was darting around nimbly while firing at a jaw-dropping speed at the enemies down at the entrance hall with a pair of handguns. She was relentless.

Estella gawked in amazement as she continued following the maid with her eyes. Knowing that Meyrin was an incredible sniper and _seeing_ Meyrin in action was completely different.

Right now in front of her was a stunning display of her skills. Skills of a professional.

She watched the maid toss aside the handguns once they ran out of bullets and did a quick cartwheel towards the pair of long-range handguns she left lying on the floor a few feet away, swiping them up with swiftness before moving again to engage the enemies once she was on her feet again. She-

_Oh right,_ a realization snapped her back to present, _I forgot about the study! _

Turning away from Meyrin, Estella retreated from the scene with her legs picking up to a sprint.

_I'm leaving this to you, Meyrin!_

**….**

* * *

><p>The study was surprisingly empty of dark-clothed enemies when she pushed open its door. Everything in the room was the same as what she saw hours ago. With a shrug, Estella closed the door and made her way down to the hallway.<p>

_Now for Phantomhive's room- _She came to an abrupt stop, struck by the contrast she noticed before her.

While the rest of the manor was looking like a battlefield, the level she was walking on looked so quiet and peaceful. The way the hallway was bathed in the bright light of the late afternoon sun filtering through the windows painted a scene of tranquility right in front of her eyes. It was as though there was no such attack happening right now.

But something about it just did not feel right.

_Is this an ambush? _The prickling sensation on her skin intensified as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

Placing her hands on the revolvers at her thighs, her eyes darted from side to side warily as she turned into the corner and glanced around before entering the next stretch of hallway. There was still no signs of enemies and this tranquility continued even as she turned into the next corner, entering the hallway where the bedrooms were located in.

Pausing, she glanced around at the two rows of doors that extended down the hallway.

Again, there was nobody.

'No danger' was what her brain assimilated, but her body was telling her otherwise.

The burning adrenaline in her blood was making her twitchy and breathless. Her eyes could not stop darting around to every little movements and sound, even though they were not really there. The hair over her body was prickling to the 'eyes' she could feel on her being. She felt like a cornered mice.

It was odd of her to be reacting like this even though there was nothing to be afraid of, but she could not help it.

The scowl between her eyebrows faltered as she quickly brushed it off as paranoia. "Damn it, snap out of this right now!" Estella growled to herself. "There's nothing here, stupid!"

Breathing deeply, she marched her way down the hallway, heading towards a particular door.

**….**

* * *

><p>The door burst opened to reveal Sebastian, Claude and the Viscount rushing in.<p>

"Young Master!" Sebastian cried out, looking bewildered at the scene before him.

With a sword hovering dangerously over his master's face, Alois Trancy was straddling on his master.

This overall scene had painted Alois's dominance over his master, but the situation turned out to be otherwise when the butler's eyes drifted down to Ciel on the floor and saw that a sword held in his master's hand was impaled into the other boy's abdomen.

It seemed that the Trancy boy also did not realize that the situation has changed because his body was shaking in shock when he looked down with a pained look. As Alois fell away from the boy below, the sword slid out of his body simultaneously, causing blood to spill out.

Alois clutched on his abdomen and rolled over in agony, screaming. "It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" Hot tears ran down his face as he looked at his butler with desperate wide eyes. "Help me, Claude, help me!

"_Oh my, blood!"_ The Viscount staggered backwards dramatically but he was already completely forgotten by the others.

At his master's pleas, Claude who also had a bewildered look on his face, began to run forward. Sebastian who realize what his rival was doing, did the same. "Yes, your High–"

"Stop there, Sebastian!" The two butlers stopped in their tracks at that and stared in surprise at glaring Ciel who was now standing over Alois. "Don't approach before I've killed him!"

With an amused smirk, Sebastian bowed. "Of course."

Turning his attention back to Alois, Ciel glanced down at the boy with a murderous gleam in his eyes and said in a voice full of menace. "Die, Alois Trancy."

**….**

* * *

><p>Estella slowed down and came to a stop at the door. The door was shut tight against its frame like usual. Nothing seemed disturbed so far.<p>

Tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear, Estella edged her hand toward the door knob and twisted as silently as she could. She gave the door a gentle push and the first thing that met her eyes was a very well-made bed. She saw that the room was untouched after a glance around her master's room, and pulled the door close, securing it against its frame once again.

_Those three must be really difficult to penetrate to the point that no one was able to make it to this level. _A hum of amazement went through her as she continued down the carpeted path._ No wonder Phantomhive trust them so much with his manor…_

As she moved along, she thought fleetingly of Bard's earlier comment on her improvement in combat, absentmindedly sparing a glance into her room through its ajared door before pulling her attention back to the front–

_Hold on._ She paused in her steps and glanced back over her shoulder to the room she went past. _Didn't I close it before I went out?_

With her head cocked to the side, Estella wore a puzzled look as she cautiously approached the room.

During her first few days working here, she had always been reminded by Sebastian to keep her door closed at all times. It is unsightly, he said. But, she eventually understood why. It would make anyone walking past her exposed room uncomfortable when they incidentally look into such a private room. Leaving her door open had been her habit, even back in her old life at her family manor. This habit was eventually eradicated and replaced with the habit of closing her door at all times, even though it took her up to two weeks to instill the latter into herself.

It was unlikely that she would leave her door open like this.

Her stomach went cold. _Someone's here_, Estella realized with a jolt, eyes wide. Every nerve in her body was screaming that there was something wrong.

Her shoulders were tensed and her hands were clenching and unclenching at her sides as she nimbly crept closer and stopped right outside the door. Her throat was tight, her nerves was singing, her muscles rigid and the familiar jolt of adrenaline pulsing through her body - the way her body always prepares itself right before a fight.

She felt a flicker of unease as she pushed the door aside. Sliding out a revolver, the look in her ice blue eyes were as hard and flat as glass as she swept the room with the revolver pointing at wherever she fixed her eyes on.

There was no one in the room.

The things that caught her attention when she took another step deeper into her room was the drawn curtains and the burning candle on her dresser.

_Did someone enter my room just to draw the curtains and light a candle? _She frowned as a wave of absurdity went through her with her thoughts. Poking her head out into the hallway, she glanced around for the culprit before turning back to her room.

With a shrug, Estella padded deeper into her room, heading toward her dresser where the curious candle stood on. She stared at the small flame, a little mesmerized by the small dance it did.

As she approached the dresser, there was nothing but silence in the room around her. Silence was like a weight.

She was only four steps away from the candle when she suddenly felt tired and nauseated. Her head was starting to spin and her breathing becoming heavier and slower.

But why?

Stretching a hand out for the dresser before her, she caught herself just as she was about to collapse onto the furniture. "What's happening…?" The revolver which suddenly felt like it weighted a thousand pound, slid out of her weak grip and fell onto the floor as she croaked out weakly.

Clinging onto the edge of the dresser, she frowned at the candle with an unfocused stare, watching the candle spilt into three. Sliding down to her knees, she blinked hard, staring at the candle as it joined back into one again.

"Just close your eyes. You will feel better."

Eyes widening in shock, Estella whipped her head around to the voice, but immediately regretted her action when a wave of nausea followed. "Who…?" She blurted, clutching her head, trying to fight nausea.

"Why not just raise your head and see for yourself?" The person said lightly, a touch of amusement creeping into his voice.

Swallowing hard, the girl weakly opened her eyes and let her hand that cradling her head drop aside. "Urghhhh…." She groaned and raised her head agonizingly. Her head felt like it was made of lead! "My head…" She sniffled and glanced up to identify the speaker, only to meet a pair of amethyst eyes.

Those eyes…

She felt the breath puff out of her in a gasp. "B-Brandon…?"

"Ta-da!" Brandon grinned as though appearing in the manor while it was under attack was perfectly normal. "Missed me?" He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the door frame behind.

Estella blinked. "What in the world are you doing here?" She said weakly in a half whisper.

The look on Brandon's face softened. "I came here to set _this_ up for you." He wore a look of amused satisfaction as he gestured all around. "Don't you like it?" His eyes met hers.

She gave him a long look and shook her head. "You did not answer my question, Brandon. I meant, what are you doing in this manor?" She choked out between heavy pants. "Y-You're not supposed to be here."

"I'm here to bring you home, silly little Blancbaston." Brandon scoffed as though that was the most obvious thing in the world. His mouth twisted into a smile.

She stared at the twisted smile on the male's face, stunned. The same familiar handsome face she knew looked so…He suddenly looked like bad news.

Suspicion was starting to take its shape in her mind. "Home?" She gave him an incredulous look. "What are you talking about?" Her head was pounding. It felt as though someone was beating a drum inside it.

Brandon let out a lazy yawn. "SIGMA." He sounded bored. "Where else?"

"SIGMA?" Her voice broke with a jump of disbelief and bewilderment.

An icy hand closed around her heart. She already had her suspicion on Brandon, given his odd timing to appear. Despite that, she just did not want believe it or even want her suspicion to be proven right. _He IS with SIGMA. _At that realization, her head felt worse than ever and her stomach felt as though someone squeezed and twisted it.

Estella felt tears sting the back of her eyes but she held it all in and shut her eyes in anguish. It looked like God did not seem to think he has tortured her enough.

"Brandon…" She opened her eyes and shot him a poisonous look. "Then you were the one who led this attack?"

"Well, I thought that was pretty obvious." He smiled crookedly at her. "Comparing to the attack I led against that bunch of Blancbaston sheeps, I have to admit that Phantomhive… or should I say, that raven demon has chosen the right people to guard the manor." The male ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair, eyeing her thoughtfully.

Her mouth went dry. "B-Blancbaston…?" The only word she caught was her family name, the rest just seemed to have lost their meaning in her ears. _He was the one who attacked my manor that night? _

A wave of rage went through her body, lighting up every nerve in her body like fire. "_You_ murdered my family?!" Her voice was full of naked hatred. _"You _were the one who took everything from me? Go to hell-" Estella broke off into fits of cough. Her anger and hatred seemed to have make her forget that her body was not in the condition to do anything drastic like shouting.

Brandon looked down at her with amusement dancing in his amethyst eyes. "Indeed." He smiled serenely, as if her life was merely a spectacle for him to enjoy.

"You'll…You'll PAY!" She pushed herself off the ground and dived toward him with a hand ready to deliver a punch, only to tumble onto the male when a sudden shot of pain went through her head.

Brandon quickly caught her by the waist before she could knock them both over.

"Try again next time." He glanced down at Estella who lifted her head off his chest with a groan. "You are a stubborn one, aren't you? You should already be knocked out by that poison you inhaled." He said in a voice so gentle, sounding almost like the Brandon she thought knew.

"You…" Her voice was small and weak. She could feel herself on the verge of passing out. "…bastard." She fought against the darkness that was threatening to shut her out of consciousness in desperation.

However to no avail, her eyes fell closed.

_Phantomhive…_

The dark-haired boy was the last thing she thought of before she fell limp against Brandon.

**….**

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><p>"Hey, where are you guys going?!"<p>

Finny lowered the garden statue he was preparing to fling at the sight around him. The dark-clothed figures which were making their advance toward him were suddenly fleeing. Even the ones like them who managed to break into the manor were pouring out of the manor's entrance and broken windows, dashing across the compound, past him, and disappearing into the blanket of trees behind him, completely ignoring him. Some of them paused to pick up their unconscious comrades that littered across the compound.

Slamming the statue in his hands down on the floor, Finny gazed around him in bewilderment. _What's going on? Leaving just like this?_ He watched them disappear into the trees with a perplexed furrow between his eyebrows. _Why did they attack us? What is their purpose_-

A sharp loud sound of shattering glass cut rudely into his thought and had him turning back to the manor.

What he saw made his jaw drop.

A boy about his age was leaping out of a third storey window with another person carried bridal style in his arms. Finny watched with a gaping mouth as the boy landed gracefully on the ground level before pushing off the ground once again, dashing off in his direction. His movement was fast, no _swift_. As swift as the wind.

Staring dumbly as he watched the boy came closer, Finny's eyes sprang wide at the sight before him.

Time seemed to have suddenly slowed down because he could see despite the boy's speed. Everything was seemingly in slow motion as the boy dashed past him. Every sound and movement seemed to have ceased all around him. It was like he has entered another world.

With hair being ruffled in the wind, the boy was fixated on the trees ahead.

The gardener let out a silent gasp. _Isn't that Estella's friend, Brandon?_

Finny let his eyes drift down to Brandon's occupied arms, only to let out another gasp, but loudly this time. In his arms was Estella, curled up against his chest with her eyes closed like she was dead. Her hair which was bundled into a ponytail were swaying to the wind as the boy moved. He could not keep his eyes off her. Her unsupported arms and legs which were hanging lifelessly at the side like she was _really_ dead.

He felt sick to the stomach and his head was spinning. _Why…_

Finny flickered his eyes up to Brandon once again with a scowl, in time to watch a smirk creep across the boy's face as the boy tilted his head slightly over to him and gave him a curt nod.

Then everything was back to how it was.

The sound and movement around which had seemed to cease, faded back to his senses. It was like a spell has been broken.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Finny watched with a stunned look as the boy before him pushed off the ground and flew past him, disappearing into the trees like the dark-clothed figures.

"What…?" His heart tightened as he glanced around him in bewilderment to see that the dark-clothed figures were also gone. "Why is Brandon taking Estella away? Where are they going?" His forehead creased as he panicked. "Did he kill her?" He gasped in horror as the image of the lifeless-looking redhead he just saw popped into his head.

"I'd better inform the others!" Whipping around, the gardener sprinted towards the manor.

**….**

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><p>Ciel returned to his manor, highly anticipating a good nap after putting Alois Trancy on the verge of death. He won the Danse Macabre. But, he did not feel as he had thought he would, triumphant and accomplishment. Instead, he felt sick and hollow to his stomach.<p>

Thinking he would be greeted by the neat and proper façade his land always bore, he was shocked to find it in a mess.

"What happened here?" Ciel with Sebastian following behind, burst through the doors and into the entrance hall to see his three servants standing around aimlessly, looking helpless. Tanaka who has come out of his inactive form during the attack, had a solemn face.

All three rushed over to them with distraught worn all over their faces while Tanaka followed behind. "Young Master! Sebastian!" They stopped before the two. The three servants looked like they were about to burst into tears.

"Tanaka," Sebastian turned to the Tanaka, seeing he was the only one calm enough to answer his master's question. "What happened while we were away?"

Tanaka cleared his throat. "The manor was under attack. We are not sure who did it but this could perhaps answer our question." The elder man uncurled his gloved hand to reveal a ring with a '∑' symbol on it. "I managed to get my hand on this during the attack."

Eyes widening in recognition, Ciel and Sebastian shared a look before turning back to the ring in the elder man's hand. "SIGMA…" Ciel's eye darkened as he took the ring in his hand.

"And not to forget," He snapped his head over to see Bard looking at him with a dead serious look. "Finny saw them take Estella with them too, but we have no idea why."

The ring rolled off Ciel's hand and dropped to the floor.

"_What_?"

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><p><strong>Okay, this is one heck of a long chapter but it is finally completed. And seriously, this chapter is an action-packed one, whoa! I was spamming SnK's soundtracks while writing the action parts! It was AAAAAAMAZING!<strong>

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this long chapter! Please pardon any error you spotted up there 'cause I have no energy to go through this 7000+ long chapter again to read and edit. I will do it once I have rested. My eyes are burning from staring too long at my screen!**

**I drew Ciel and it was ermmm….don't know. Why not check it out and tell me what you think! The link is on my profile page. Do comment on the page where I put the drawing itself!**

**And, please please PLEASE review on this chapter! I am dying to know what you think the action I wrote here! **

**REIVEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.**


	38. Origin of Project Nemesis

**A/N: **Did you miss reading 'Tainted'? It seems that you did since I'd received a lot of pleas for an update.

Sorry for being such a procrastinator; that trait runs really strong in my personality. BUT, it's not entirely because of procrastination. Life was trying to be b*tch to me so I had to deal with that bit*h and I'm still doing so. It's inevitable! _Anyway_, I would like to thank those who had put in time to type out those interesting reviews for the previous chapter!

There are approximately nine chapters more to the end of this story, and I'm looking forward to that end. Here is the ninth chapter to the end. Well, I hope you will like this chapter! Please review when you're done reading this chapter!

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><p><strong><strong>#37<strong>**

**- Origin of Project Nemesis - **

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><p>"Get me a snack and some tea, Sebastian." Ciel plopped down on the chair behind his desk with a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair. He could feel a bad headache coming his way. "Inspect the damages done as well."<p>

"Right away." Sebastian retreated back into the hallway and bowed with a hand on his chest, pulling the door close.

Leaning fully into his seat, Ciel crossed his arms across his chest as a frown grew between his eyebrows. It was as though his day was not bad enough after his visit to the Trancy. Coming back to his manor only to realize that it was attacked and one of his servant captured were not making his day any better.

His mouth tightened. _SIGMA. _Ciel seethed quietly to himself as he racked his brain for a plan.

However, trying to construct a plan was not easy when his mind kept sidetracking from the plan, and to the person who he was thinking hard for a rescue plan for. To make things worse, he could feel the annoying little flutters of anxiety in him whenever his mind decides to go down the other path.

He, Ciel Phantomhive, was starting to feel utterly annoyed.

Annoyed at the stupid _forbidden_ flutters in him.

Annoyed at SIGMA for attacking his manor and kidnapping his servant – who was his source of headache and nagging uneasiness.

Annoyed that there was no tea to sip on.

Massaging his temples in hope to ease the pounding in his head, Ciel let out a heavy sigh.

_You have to focus, Ciel._ He took a deep breath and pushed down the brewing frustration in him. _What do I do…? _

He stood up from his chair and manoeuvred over to the window behind to survey the outside. Giving the window a light push, he turned his gaze down to the huge compound below where debris and whatever remains from the attack littered across. "Such a mess…" He muttered disdainfully under his breath.

_Looks like I have to deal with this unkemptness first._ Ciel decided, turning away to return to his desk. _But it has to be dealt fast. _He sat down on his chair with a sigh, crossing his left leg over his right.

Now, the plan was what he need to think about.

He hadn't seen much of SIGMA the last time they infiltrated them so charging straight into their base without a foolproof plan would be rather reckless. One wrong move could bring him a lot of unnecessary trouble. Just like a game of chess.

Ciel absentmindedly tapped his index finger against the wooden surface of his desk in a repetitive manner, staring at the pile of paperwork in front of him with a faraway look in his eye. A plan was beginning to form in his head.

However, a soft rap on the door cut in just as he was about to delved deeper into thoughts.

Ciel raised his head with a little frown on his face, swearing at Sebastian's bad timing. "Come in, Sebastian." The boy said, a touch of impatience creeping into his voice. He crossed his arms and rested them on the desk in front, leaning forward as he watched Sebastian walk into his study with a food cart. The content on the cart rattled as the butler made his way to him.

"Sebastian," Ciel spoke up as the butler set down a slice of fruit tart in front of him. "Report the damage." He leaned into his chair and eyed him expectantly.

Sebastian gave a nod and cleared his throat softly, picking up a teacup from the food cart.

"The windows in the entrance hall are all broken, and I'd ordered the servants to sweep up the glass fragments on the floor. The wallpapers in the halls are torn with bullet holes and stained with specks of blood–" The butler paused in the midst of his report to fill the cup he was still holding with steaming tea before setting the teapot back to its place on the cart. "There are eight broken garden pots and four statues shattered outside which I assume Finny used on the attackers." Sebastian placed the tea delicately before his master as he spoke. "The basement is untouched."

Ciel who had just popped the last mouth of the fruit tart, lifted the cup to his lips. "Peppermint…?" His eyebrows instantly rose in surprise at the strong scent of peppermint that flooded his nose.

"It's the best for stressful times like this." A smile which held a hint of smugness graced Sebastian's face. "I heard that peppermint soothes headaches really well. I suspected that you were about to have one." A ghost of a smile flickered across his lips. "Back to the report, this level is mostly untouched too except for Blancbaston's room. I believe that was the room she was abducted from."

The boy's gaze which was on the tea sharply swept upwards and rested on Sebastian through narrowed eye at that information.

"SIGMA…" Ciel set down the cup in his hand. "For them to target her room like this, the purpose of their attack is to take back their prized guinea pig afterall." His mouth thinned into a line. "But how did they know _that _was her room…? " He tapped his pointer finger against the desk in thoughts as his face twisted into a frown. "Unless someone had been snooping around the manor…or there is an insider among us."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you suggesting that one of the servants could be a traitor?"

Silence weighted down on the air in the room as Ciel's gaze stayed on Sebastian. An unreadable look was on his face.

With what felt like a long time, Ciel broke into the silence with a heavy sigh.

"There is no harm being cautious. Only idiots would be so trusting." He noticed how the corners of Sebastian's mouth turned up slightly at his words, but he paid no mind, knowing that everything in a demon's eyes or at least Sebastian's eyes, was an entertainment that he would play along in. Forcing down the urge to roll his eyes, Ciel closed them with a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll leave the interrogation to you. If they pass, let them know that they will be going away for a few days."

Sebastian straightened with a small jolt. "Where are you sending them to? And may I ask, why?" His widened eyes and slightly slacked jaw showed his genuine surprise about the matter.

"On a little break in Brixton while we get the manor fixed." Ciel lifted the cup to his lips. "I don't want them getting in the way. They will be leaving by tomorrow morning, and be back after two days."

Sebastian observed Ciel quietly as the boy lifted the cup to take another sip. Working under him as a butler for many years, he knew there were underlying concerns for the servants behind his cold words. They were one of the humans Ciel Phantomhive would concern himself with.

"And… what if they fail?" Sebastian watched him, curious about his answer.

Asking him prodding questions as such were one of this demon's favourite things to do.

Ciel could feel the scrutinizing gaze of those cold crimson eyes weighing down heavily on him. Lowering the cup to the desk, Ciel raised his gaze to meet the subtly powerful gaze. "Death, obviously, to those who dares to cross me." He dreaded the mentioned outcome but knew he fully meant it when he said it.

"Quit staring at me like that." Ciel hissed when he realized that Sebastian had not released him from his gaze. But when he looked again, he swore he saw a flicker of approval in them.

With an amused smile dancing across his lips, Sebastian drew away his gaze.

Choosing to ignore that smile, Ciel was silent for a moment, thinking. "Alright then, get on with the interrogation. After that, retrieve the floor plan of SIGMA's headquarter we found with Blancbaston." He sighed, leaning forward in his chair. "I'll take a look at Blancbaston's room."

Sebastian bowed in return. "Yes, my lord."

**….**

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><p>Estella opened her eyes, pushing up her eyelids which felt as heavy as lead, only to snap them shut when a sharp pain abruptly attacked her head. Once the pain has resided, she forced her eyes opened once again. At first, all she could perceive were shapes. Dark shapes that looked distorted and were seemingly in shrouds of fog.<p>

However, it did not take long for her vision to clear up. The dark shapes solidified into walls and the 'fog' dissipated into thin air as soon as she regained her focus.

Estella then made a move to rub her eyes, only to find herself straining against a force that was stopping her from doing so. Surprised and curious, she snapped her head to the side to find out why, but was interrupted by waves of nausea from the reckless movement.

Her stomach clenched tightly at the acidy bitter taste of vomit that shot up to her throat. Flinging herself to the side of whatever she was chained to as much as she could, Estella released the disgusting-tasting fluid that was fighting to break out of her mouth. She could feel the contents she last put in her stomach from her previous meal exploding onto the floor, gushing out like a rapid.

The back of her throat were burning by the time she was done.

Wiping away the trickling saliva hanging over her bottom lip, Estella plopped back onto the object she was lying on, trying to fight back dizziness. She swallowed with difficulty and closed her eyes, inhaling a deep breath. Her body heaved and shuddered as she tried to calm the storm in her head, feeling her energy slipping just from throwing up the contents in her stomach.

Estella didn't open her eyes even when the disturbance in her head was fought off. Questions were starting to swamp her mind and she felt suffocated by confusion in the darkness behind her lids.

The stifling feeling urged her eyes open.

The first thing she noticed were the rough jagged walls that subsequently led her eyes up to the ceiling which shared the same rough and jagged texture they bore. The walls were decorated by dancing shadows that was casted onto from the burning torches. She glanced around in hope to find a window, only find herself disappointed at that there was none that could tell her whether it was day or night outside. This also meant she could forget about escaping through any windows.

These features vaguely reminded her of a cave, but she quickly changed her mind when she discovered a wall of metal bars at the far end of the cave-like room.

She was in a cell. The lack of window meant this cell was either purposely picked because it has none or an underground one. She picked the latter, purely based on her intuition.

However, where _exactly_ was she?

A burst of laughter brought her attention to the metal bars, just in time to see two men dressed in the same clothes – uniforms, she realized– strolling past her cell. Cries of surprise emitted from the two when they happened to glance in to find themselves held in their prisoner's gaze.

But she was too fixated on the cloths tied around each of their left biceps to notice their cries. Her face paled with realization at the too familiar symbol they bore.

Why in the world was she back in SIGMA?

Hurling herself to the side, Estella threw up the second time.

**….**

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><p>Ciel would hate to admit to Sebastian that he felt utterly relieved to know he could let his servants go on their little break. They had passed, and safe to say, they were proven to be trustworthy.<p>

This meant his servants would be leaving the next morning, which was only a few hours away, to catch the first train to Brixton, and he knew it was unnecessary to worry about those three klutz wreaking havoc – even though unintentional– on the way there since Tanaka was going with them too.

Now that he could take his mind off the servants, Ciel turned his thoughts away and settled his gaze back onto the floor plan he had just obtained from Sebastian. He fingered the thin white-turning-brown material in his hand as he peruse the lined structure of SIGMA's headquarter, but only to find out that this floor plan in his possession gave him nothing but a pitifully vague idea of the building itself.

It was hand-drawn, his mouth crumbled into a frown. Inhaling deeply, he sat forward, praying that he could still get something out of a hand-drawn floor plan.

He traced the wobbly-but-still-somehow-straight lines that abruptly grew crooked before hesitantly leaving them to glance over to the barely readable words at the sides, managing to catch 'Exit' among them after squinting and turning the paper several times. His heart sank when he realized that it was a poor quality floor plan of the building, and that he could barely get anything out of it.

He could suddenly picture Estella breaking into sweat, desperately trying to copy whatever she could from the original floor plan onto the paper she managed to obtain with a pen she had probably stole from her captors.

Pushing the paper he deemed useless aside, Ciel sunk into his chair with hope sinking along, raking his hand through his hair with a frustrated growl.

_How did you managed to escape with this, Blancbaston?_

With no strong knowledge of the building, a quiet rescue was regrettably out of question. His eyebrows knitted themselves together as he finally, grudgingly, came to rest on an inevitably reckless, foolish decision. He had to take his chances; he was out of options. Charging into SIGMA blindly was probably the most absurd and rash decision he has ever made, but it would do. However, this rescue would need more than just Sebastian and him, Ciel decided.

The rescue was going to be more troublesome though.

Stifling a yawn, Ciel stood up from the chair and made toward the door, catching sight of the clock before exiting his study. Now that he had decided on what to do, he could finally let himself turn in for the night.

**...**

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><p>He could not sleep.<p>

No matter how much he tossed and turned or force himself to sleep, he just could not. Not when his mind was running high on thoughts of his captured servant, and his uneasiness for her was prodding him non-stop.

The bed in the room across his was empty now. It disturbed him, knowing he would waking up to a new day without a loud, hot-headed idiot complaining about her chores and pissing him off with her sarcastic remarks and stupid smirks. She was annoying like hell at times, but he would rather have a headache dealing with her idiocy than worrying over her.

His eyes softened.

He had to admit that he would not know how to get by in his manor, without her presence that was as loud as her brightly-coloured hair to liven it up.

Somehow, it felt as though through the capture of Estella, someone, probably a sadist, was trying to point out that the disturbing truth was there, deep in him. He hated how close to the truth Elizabeth was.

Giving up on the idea of sleep, Ciel sat up with a groan of annoyance and gave in to his raging mind and emotions. He could forget about sleeping at this state.

It was frustrating. Beyond frustrating.

**….**

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><p>It felt like a decade has passed. The two guards were all she had seen before they rushed off. She had assumed that she would be seeing more of them from the panicked looks on their faces. But she was wrong. No one came, not even a single soul has passed her cell, which she found rather strange.<p>

With all her four limbs chained to a wooden plank with manacles meant she could go nowhere, not even moving around within her own cell. No thanks to them, her limbs were rather dysfunctional right now for that purpose after being confined for who knew how long already. They felt numb from the lack of movement.

During her time alone in the cavern doing nothing but counting cracks in the ceiling which the plank below her was inclined toward, patches of memories of her encounter with Brandon Christensen back at the manor managed to catch up with her, quelling the confusion she felt and gave rise to rage and hatred.

She was seething with rage for the past few hours, and was driven by her hatred to think of all sorts of ways to lay her revenge on her family's murderer. It was only until she grew tired when the fire within diminished– temporarily.

Presently, Estella stared with concentration at the ceiling above, listening for any sound indicating a presence in the area. She doubted she could break out of here like she could the last time. But she knew she had to try. If not, she would have to wait for her master to break her out. But she had her doubts.

When was he going to come?

Did he even notice that she was missing?

What if he didn't?

Biting her bottom lips worriedly, she tried to keep her dampening hope up–

_What makes you think that he would care when you are just a servant, silly? _She nearly shrieked at the intrusion but caught herself. Swallowing hard, her eyebrows knitted themselves together in concentration as the familiar sinister voice continued cruelly. _Especially a servant as defiant as you._

Where did she hear this voice from?

_It was the voice from back then! _Her eyes sprang wide open in shock when she finally figured out.

_I'm surprised that you remember. _The voice did not sound surprised at all. _Yes, it's me._

Estella gasped. "Who the hell _exactly _are you?!" She bit her bottom lips, wincing at her volume when she realized she asked too loud. "What…How is it possible for you to speak through my mind? Is this some sort of power?" When she was met with silence, she pressed her lips into a thin line with impatience. "Hey, answer when someone's asking you a question–"

_You're annoying. _The voice cut in sharply without warning. Estella winced at its bluntness. _Surely, you know what SIGMA had done to you right_–

"Yeah, they injected demon blood into me." She froze. "Wait, you're–"

_Have your parents ever taught you that it's rude to interrupt when someone's talking?! _The voice bellowed.

Blinking in shock at the sudden rise in volume, Estella shot back. "There is no need to shout, you know! Are you trying to split my head or something?! Remember whose mind you are staying in, you ungrateful freeloader!"She lowered her voice to a whisper when her voice rebounded back to her ears as echoes. "I'm guessing you're the demon." If anyone passing by her cell caught her yelling out her side of the conversation, they would have thought that she had finally lost it.

_Tch. Not bad, you're a little less stupid than I thought. _

Estella glowered at the insult, but chose to focus at the confirmed answer, only to realize that such things as demons were no longer a surprise to her anymore.

Working and living with one could do that much to her. Even so, she felt calm and nonchalant about the fact that one was currently _living in her head_. She only felt surprised that she could take it so well. She had a strong feeling that she could even readily believe that faeries, werewolves or vampires exist if someone told her so.

_I'm still hungry._ The voice she mentally labelled with 'Demon' brought her thoughts back to it. To her, the Demon sounded like it was muttering to itself. _What a pity, the souls I took were insufficient._

Souls? Her eyes widened. She knew the relation between demons and souls, for she had read it in the databook, _Angels and Demons_, Brandon gave her on their first meet.

"The souls you took?" Estella cut into the Demon's monologue. "You mean you have… devoured before?" Her heartbeat raced at the words 'souls' and 'devoured'.

Silence trailed after her question, stretching the nerve-wreaking sensation that was stifling to her.

_Yes, of course! _The Demon sounded excited. _I was finally out the night, and my power were free to burn those pathetic humans! But I must say, their souls were satisfyingly delicious." _She could feel her hair standing on its end at the way the Demon could hardly contain its excitement. Its words were utterly disturbing.

"Burn?" Her curiosity overwhelmed her uneasiness. "You used fire?"

_Yes, fire! _The Demon sounded smug._ Well, I'm a fire demon afterall. _

Estella was silent for a moment, frowning at the new information. _Say,_ she perked up, turning her attention back to the resident. _Do you want me to break you out of here?_

She blinked. "Why would you do that for me?"

_I want to get out of here as much as you do, you know. _The Demon's voice rose, tinged with disgust. _This place sickens me._

Her eyebrows arched up in surprise. "Why and how are you going to break me out?"

_It's a long story. _The Demon's voice dipped down a several shades. It sounded like bitterness for a moment before it was back to how it sounded before the dip. _Let me take over your body and I'll do the job._

An icy hand closed around her heart at its proposal.

"Forget it." Her mouth tightened with disapproval. "No way in hell am I going to lend you my body so you can start devouring souls again! I'll just wait for Phantomhive to get me out, so stop talking to me."

_How foolish. _A hum of amusement could be heard in the Demon's voice. _Why would that Phantomhive brat care? _It chuckled cruelly. _Oh well, you can wait all you want. Just don't regret turning me down…_

Estella scowled at his words, growling. "I will not regret it, you bastard demon."

The presence of the Demon was already gone by the time she finished her sentence. She was alone again.

**….**

* * *

><p>The soft glow of early morning light leaking in from the little gaps through the drapes beckoned from beyond his eyelids. Ciel opened his eyes, blinking hard as his blurry surroundings sharpened into focus. It was already morning.<p>

"Good morning, Young Master."

He turned his head, slowly, to find Sebastian standing by his bed with tea ready to be served to him, just like every other morning.

"Sebastian," Ciel suddenly sat up and turned to the clock on his bedside table, noting that it was about time his servants left the manor. "Have they left?"

"Not yet, but soon." Sebastian offered him the cup of tea.

His gaze landed onto the tea in his hand and stared dully at his reflection on its light brown surface, watching as the white medical eye patch taken off his right eye and replaced with his usual black one. For a piercing moment, the recollection of what he had decided the night before came rushing to him.

Letting out a sigh, he took a few quick sips from his cup before nudging it back into Sebastian's hand. "Hurry and get me dressed."

Bowing, Sebastian set the cup aside and turned back to attend to the boy's request.

**….**

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><p>"This should be enough to last you four for the whole trip." Ciel nodded his head at the two bags of allowance in Sebastian's hand before turning his gaze onto Tanaka. "Tanaka, I'll be entrusting you to take care of the finance while you are there. "<p>

Tanaka gave him a bow similar to Sebastian's. "Of course, Young Master." Ciel nodded back as he watched Sebastian hand over the two bags, knowing he did not need to worry with Tanaka around.

"Alright, you three," He shifted his gaze to the three servants who he realized were looking at him like they were about to drop onto their knees and worship him right there and then.

Eyebrows arched in surprise, Ciel almost squirmed in discomfort at the way their eyes seemed to be _sparkling_ at him, but he caught himself. Frowning in concentration at what he was about to say, he cleared his throat, trying hard to ignore the gazes they gave him. "Anyway, make sure you three don't create trouble. You are free to do what you want as long as Tanaka allows it and you don't attract too much attention."

"Thank you, Young Master!" Their faces spilt into wide grins as they chorused.

He nodded. "Get going now. Don't miss the train." Ciel levelled a hard look at the four. "Be back in two days _sharp_, understand?"

"Understood!" The three levelled a serious look in return while Tanaka bowed in agreement. As soon as Ciel gave his permission to be dismissed, the stiff air between them disappeared.

"See you, Young Master!" They bade their goodbyes with wide grins before piling into the waiting carriage behind them, leaving Tanaka who watched with a closed-eyes smile. He was clearly amused at the trio's excitement to get to Brixton for their short getaway.

Tanaka turned back to Ciel and Sebastian. "We shall be leaving now, Young Master." With another bow, he turned away and climbed into the carriage where the trio were already settled in the seats.

Ciel raised a hand up in return to the eager waves his servants sent him, watching as they disappeared from sight when the door was pulled close. Even when the carriage was already turning out from the porch, he could still spot them with their wide grins and waving of their hands from the window when they pressed their faces to it.

But Ciel made no move to return them. Excessive waving was unnecessary and a waste of energy, he thought decisively as he watched the carriage drove through the gates and disappeared into a corner. He was dimly aware that Sebastian was watching his back as if he was anticipating an order.

Ciel exhaled carefully before turning around to meet Sebastian's burning gaze with his own, deciding that it was time to give out the order Sebastian was waiting for. "Sebastian, it's time you fixed the manor."

"Yes, my lord."

**….**

* * *

><p>The sound of a dying whale made her cringe for the fifth time. She was hungry– no, <em>ravenous<em>. The loud grumbles from her stomach and the burning sensation at her abdomen were the proof. The only thing SIGMA did to make sure that their prized experiment stayed alive was to keep her dying from dehydration by sending two guards to _dump_ a bucket of water onto her.

She could remember how they held the bucket over her head and emptied it on her. "Drink." That was the only warning she got before a huge chunk of water crashed down on her. Somehow, she managed to gulp down a few mouth of the liquid down her dry throat before she started coughing and spluttering.

She wasn't even sure whether they wanted her to drink or bathe her with it anymore. She wanted to wring their necks so badly. But due to her constrained limbs, she could only yell a colourful string of vulgarities at the top of her voice after them as they scampered away, like they feared her. She was left alone in her cell again after that, shivering away in the tightsuit she was still clad in. They clung to her skin like a second skin which was no help in shielding her from the chilly air of the cavern.

And now that another few hours has passed, her skin has adapted to the new temperature. It was fortunate and strange that she hasn't died from hypothermia yet, which she dimly suspected was the doing of the fire demon inside her. She did not know how, but it probably needed her to stay alive for its own sake.

The matter that was bugging her now was that the resident in her head could be right about her master's failure to turn up. Even though she was clueless about the time, her intuition was telling her that many hours or even days had already passed. Within the painfully long time she was chained, her faith in him started dwindling and the time alone had made her questioning herself about her significance to him or even in this world.

Where was her master? Did anybody even cared? Her eyes saddened. Was she perhaps…forgotten? Estella felt her lips tremble and pressed them together, to stop the shaking.

She knew it was impossible to escape being almost completely immobile due to the manacles and her lack of strength. Even if she did managed to free herself from the plank below her, getting past the security was another obstacle of much higher level. The security was probably tighter after her escape.

"Ahhhhh, there she is." Estella snapped her head over to the bars at the intrusion which had diverted her from her depressing thoughts, only to feel her rage and hatred that was doused hours and hours ago refuelled.

"Victor Blair." She hissed spitefully, feeling a deep fury growing inside her.

"Isn't it good to be back, A174?" Her icy eyes pierced the pair of black eyes with a hateful glare at hearing the so-called name she despised so much. She was dimly aware of the few guards who followed him in. "I'd purposefully rushed all the way back from Germany just so I could see you again, you know. You are _that _important to us." The man held a hand over his head and sighed dramatically. "I was so heartbroken when I found out you were gone–"

Estella kept her expression stony. "Cut the crap, Victor. What the hell are you planning to do with me? Why are you even doing this…this demon blood project?"

Victor scratched his scarred chin thoughtfully. He looked like he was mulling over something.

"Alright," Victor finally spoke. "I guess I'll give you a little sneak preview of my genius plan. Since you _are_ technically part of it."

Her hands tightened in fists as she anticipated for his answer, feeling somewhat nervous but she did not know why.

"I saw myself as a citizen of this country and I have served Britain faithfully as a researcher for many years until this country decided to _trample_ on my efforts." Victor's disdainful expression melted into a dark, furious look. "I _despise_ this goddamn country and their bitch of a queen. They are my enemies."

Her eyebrows arched up, surprised at the complete change of his mood. "There is already a tension _so_ thick that you could almost cut it with a knife between the Germans and them, because of France," Victor said with a big dramatic gesture."Both nations were aware that a potential war might break out between them so they desperately started building up their military strength before it could happen. This is known as an 'arm race'.

Estella's eyes went wide. A war?

"But of course, there was no way in hell I'm going to let this damn country win in this 'arm race'." Her eyes followed as Victor who was paced left and right repeatedly. "I'm helping the Germans to make sure that won't happen. And so, I offered them my plan, and I was paid handsomely to help them build an army of hybrids stronger and faster than normal humans. A thousand times deadlier too." Victor stopped his pacing and froze her with her knowing look. "Hybrids like you and Brandon."

Her stomach went cold. "Brandon too…?"

"Yes, you have met him, haven't you? But of course, you two are hybrids of different species. In fact, hybrids that are arch-enemies of each other, just like their pure-bred counterparts." Victor's face wore a look of amused satisfaction. "Angels and Demons."

Estella felt the breath puff out of her in a gasp. _Angels and Demons?_ For a piercing moment, her thoughts flew to the book that bore the same words. _Was Brandon giving me a hint when he picked that book for me?_

She asked in a voice tinged with curiosity. "Does…Does that mean that asshole has angel blood?"

"Obviously."

She twisted her lips into a wry smile at the irony before bursting into dry laughter. "For someone with angel blood, the asshole seems like the complete opposite of what an angel is, to me."

"Your opinions hold no significance here." Victor made an impatient noise. "Anyway, once I have successfully created the supreme army, I can sit back and watch Germany destroy this very land. Beeeeautiful!" He continued his pacing but this time, quicker with excitement. "I'm brilliant for naming my project, Project _Nemesis_!" He was completely oblivious to the withering look she gave him.

But Estella quickly dropped her withering look when she realized Victor was not looking at her anymore, and seethed, grudgingly forced herself to continue listening to his rants. _How the hell is this a 'sneak preview'_?

"In case you don't know what 'Nemesis' is, it means 'arch-enemy'." He explained. "And since, I've created hybrids that are destined to be arch-enemies. Like how Britain and its Queen are arch-enemies to me, 'Nemesis' was the perfect word to name my ingenious project! And there, the birth of Project Nemesis!" Victor spun around excitedly with a smug smirk. "Isn't it just perfect?"

Estella threw an incredulous look at him and scoffed rudely. "That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard." She was definitely not going to give Victor the satisfaction of being agreed with. "Get your deluded head out of your ass, will you?"

A brief silence followed before Victor's open expression closed up.

"I guess your mouth is still as sharp as ever." A sadistic smile eerily crept its way across his lips. "Thank you so much for reminding me that I have yet to deliver your punishment."

Her throat tightened as she watched Victor slowly pranced towards her. The firelight from the burning torches around them added a malicious glint to his hooded eyes.

"I've met people who are what I called 'unbreakable'. Let me enlighten you... An unbreakable can be recognised by many things. They can be people of different gender, races or origins, but there is one thing they share – their spirits _never_ break no matter what is done to them." She watched the man before her extend his right arm to the side with his palm facing upwards and curled his fingers curtly, beckoning at the guards which came in with him. And immediately, a guard appeared at his side with a coiled object offered toward him.

The object in his hand uncoiled to reveal a whip.

"Are you perhaps… one of them?" Victor added, smirking cruelly now.

Heart leaping wildly, Estella said nothing. Her voice seemed to have fled the moment the whip appeared. Dread clawed its way her spin as she raised her gaze back up to his black eyes, with a deep gulp.

"We shall see."

Helpless, she watched the whip which was raised over his head, came down on her in slow motion with painful anticipation.

In a few seconds later, her cell was found to be filled with her screams.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>

I'm sorry for _long, long, long _breaks between chapters, but it feels good to be writing again! Thanks to everyone who patiently waited for this latest chapter! And also, thanks for sticking with this story despite its sup_eeeeer _slow updates! Please bear with the mistakes you spot here; I'll be sure to review this chapter again!

As always, _please_ drop me a review before closing this tab or window!

*******_DISCLAIMER*_**

The piece of history told by Victor Blair is partly fictional.

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><p><strong>NEWS! <strong>A _Blue Exorcist _fanfiction is coming up soon and I have made the book cover for it. Be sure to check that out on my profile page – the link is right there!


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